Malicious cryptocurrency apps found on the Play Store?

[Pettuh4]

PlayStore is terrible to download this kind of app. The reviews are completely nonsense and irresponsible: you find a mining or faucet app, then you look the reviews and there are lots of 4-5 stars and when you look what they wrote you see things like: "testing, looks good", "wasn't paid yet, but I will give 5 stars for now"...

There is no way to really know if that app is legit or not. And in some cases they start legit and in the end scam the users and worse, steal their informations, with serious chances of invading cellphone's data. I reached to the conclusion it's better to not download any app on cellphones if you really care and want to preserve it for a long time.

Could this reduce the confidence in Bitcoin and other legit crypto-currencies?

Only people who aren't really interested in BTC and Crypto in general will let a negative app experience affect their confidence about it... Just don't download these stuff and you will be fine, use a browser, use popular legit sites and there won't be issues.

Those reviews are big flags, and that's why not just look at rating, read reviews too.

These devs give some extra 'coins' for giving 5 star reviews so that's how it works and you know when something is forced it doesn't look genuine.

Most of us don't like reading, we hurry through things and it's our negligence and carelessness that often lead many to download malicious stuffs from the play store.So long as an app is free you should at least try to read about it and know how to use it and what its prior users are saying before you download them.

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[131tc01n]

Maybe this can reduce their trust in bitcoin and other crypto, but that's very little. In fact there are still many more secure and secure desktop and mobile wallets, they just don't trust wallet providers online rather than other bitcoin or crypto

[ProperFerret]

4 days ago, a military friend of mine funds all got stolen. A look a scan of his wallet via etherscan.io showed that the fund always left same minute after successfully receiving it. And the name of the application in play store is "ERC20 Tokens Wallet". I had advised him to download Imtoken from the store. He won't listen until the worst happened. Thank God I was able to detect it when he complained the fund he sent was yet to reach it destination. Now a check on that phishing app showed that it has some good reviews, but my conclusion is that the reviews are nothing but conspiracy. Try to make download directly from authors link or make reviews on YouTube or ask someone already using it. Let's avoid the worst case.

Seems like too much work and I am afraid that this may preclude others from wanting to use virtual currencies. If there are no regulations to prevent people from getting scammed, then crypto money won't last long despite the fact that many businesses are now accepting them.

[pavka]

4 days ago, a military friend of mine funds all got stolen. A look a scan of his wallet via etherscan.io showed that the fund always left same minute after successfully receiving it. And the name of the application in play store is "ERC20 Tokens Wallet". I had advised him to download Imtoken from the store. He won't listen until the worst happened. Thank God I was able to detect it when he complained the fund he sent was yet to reach it destination. Now a check on that phishing app showed that it has some good reviews, but my conclusion is that the reviews are nothing but conspiracy. Try to make download directly from authors link or make reviews on YouTube or ask someone already using it. Let's avoid the worst case.

Seems like too much work and I am afraid that this may preclude others from wanting to use virtual currencies. If there are no regulations to prevent people from getting scammed, then crypto money won't last long despite the fact that many businesses are now accepting them.

Let me disagree with you. A large number of pickpockets did not make people abandon the use of traditional money. If you find out that your friend, for example, has been robbed on a bus, you will be more careful in storing your wallet. Similarly, with cryptocurrency - you already know that downloading applications is not safe, then you can either abandon them, or carry out operations with Bitcoins and store virtual money on a separate computer.

[Matthewmorris4]

Since crypto apps are proliferating all over the place, is there any way to confirm that they are phishing-free? Many reports have confirmed that the Google playstore is very slow to take action against fake wallet-apps, to the great displeasure of those who use virtual coins...
Could this reduce the confidence in Bitcoin and other legit crypto-currencies?

You should avoid apps-based wallets, these apps are often deceptive. to find out whether the wallet we use has apps or not, it's better to visit the official website. if they do not include any apps linked, it is better not to install the wallet from the playstore. Its 100% a scam apps. However wallet Android/iOS still risky from security

[ProperFerret]

PlayStore is terrible to download this kind of app. The reviews are completely nonsense and irresponsible: you find a mining or faucet app, then you look the reviews and there are lots of 4-5 stars and when you look what they wrote you see things like: "testing, looks good", "wasn't paid yet, but I will give 5 stars for now"...

There is no way to really know if that app is legit or not. And in some cases they start legit and in the end scam the users and worse, steal their informations, with serious chances of invading cellphone's data. I reached to the conclusion it's better to not download any app on cellphones if you really care and want to preserve it for a long time.

Could this reduce the confidence in Bitcoin and other legit crypto-currencies?

Only people who aren't really interested in BTC and Crypto in general will let a negative app experience affect their confidence about it... Just don't download these stuff and you will be fine, use a browser, use popular legit sites and there won't be issues.

Those reviews are big flags, and that's why not just look at rating, read reviews too.

These devs give some extra 'coins' for giving 5 star reviews so that's how it works and you know when something is forced it doesn't look genuine.

Most of us don't like reading, we hurry through things and it's our negligence and carelessness that often lead many to download malicious stuffs from the play store.So long as an app is free you should at least try to read about it and know how to use it and what its prior users are saying before you download them.

I can't agree with you because Google should be able to properly vet those creating apps on their platform. People use their playstore because they know that the apps on there are supposed to be safe. Now that an increasing number of places take virtual coins, no one wants to have a wallet that would put them in an embarrassing situation, just because Google did not do its job (Isn't the company making enough money off our personal data to pay for that kind of screening?). And let's not forget the fake reviews that are a part of the scam, which makes it hard for regular folks to distinguish the good from the bad wallet apps.

[ProperFerret]

Since crypto apps are proliferating all over the place, is there any way to confirm that they are phishing-free? Many reports have confirmed that the Google playstore is very slow to take action against fake wallet-apps, to the great displeasure of those who use virtual coins...
Could this reduce the confidence in Bitcoin and other legit crypto-currencies?

You should avoid apps-based wallets, these apps are often deceptive. to find out whether the wallet we use has apps or not, it's better to visit the official website. if they do not include any apps linked, it is better not to install the wallet from the playstore. Its 100% a scam apps. However wallet Android/iOS still risky from security

Seems like a lot of hurdles for users, don't you think?

[mensahkkofie]

Google inc should be blamed for the huge number of phishing or malicious android apps on the google playstore. I believe the speed at which they tackle serious issues that can harm customers should be augmented. Many software developers are taking this weakness to scam people in the name of cryptocurrencies

[bettercrypto]

Hackers are always thinking of innovative ways of how to steal your coins. They are very up to date and one step ahead of us. Always take the  necessary cautions in downloading apps by performing due diligence. Also, consider storing your coins in a safe place such as cold storage ann/or harware wallets.

[libert19]

Don't be fooled by 5 star ratings, and always check reviews, there are many sane souls who would write reviews to alert others.