Phones on mobile wallet becoming riskier

[_act_]

@_act_, you don't necessarily have to have a crypto wallet in which you keep a coin on your smartphone, but a smartphone can be a vector of attack on the crypto exchange you use while trading on the go. Whether it's getting a phishing link via text message or email, or someone will try a SIM swap to access your crypto exchange account.

In short, it is not recommended to trade via smartphones and various official apps or use SMS 2FA - there are many cases where it turned out to be a fatal mistake. How easy was (or at least it was 2020) to make a SIM swap in the US -> https://www.usenix.org/system/files/soups2020-lee.pdf

I too think computer (PC) is better than phone but because people do not carry it about like phones, like I have said before too, most of my online activities is mostly through phone which still make it more vulnerable to attack, but if using computer, some people have their email on the computer active and phishing link can be sent to the email. If some people do not know how to avoid phishing messages, it can be sent to their phone, transfer the link to their computer to proceed. What is most necessary about phishing attempts is for someone to know about it and avoid it completely.

I agree with sim authentication, it is risky and have led to scam in the past, the two that are most recommended are 2fa app and hardware authenticator, but having the 2fa app on the same device you have the account you are using it for is not also good.

With Google Play, malware and spyware is even easier to install.  It is easy to create a developer account and publish a fake Bitcoin Wallet on the store.  Check out Free Wallet.  They have been scamming for years and they are still up and running.

Freewallet? Just that it is a custodial wallet and not good to use custododial wallet, using noncustododial wallet is good to have control on your coins.

There are many fake apps on app stores, they will be noticed, removed and another one will be there again, that is true. If downloaded, that is another scam again.

If the wallet is fake which is common on app stores, malware will be included to steal the coins. But it may be in a way only addresses would be seen as the developer will have the private keys with them.

Moreover.  If spyware is a thing you are afraid of.  It is worth noting an iOS or Android phone will have so much more spyware than a PC with Linux on it would.

That is true, you are right but most people are using Windows, an OS that hackers also prefer to design malware for to scam multitudes. Linux is not also completely safe, just that people that are using it are not many and used more by people that know how to avoid malware, hackers prefer just not to design malware for it, just little malware are for Linux.

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[Welsh]

If you take your wallet outside of your home, it is more prone to attacks in my opinion. I would rather prefer my home (personal) computer for little amount of bicoin for frequent transfer while I can only use mobile phone for the amount I can be able to lose because anything can happen because outside is riskier and the wallet is still an online wallet. But I do not make use of phone for wallet again.

The most secure way of accessing a online wallet i.e Electrum/Bitcoin Core connected to the internet without using a hardware wallet, would be accessing it via a computer on a home computer connected to the router via a Ethernet cable. However, that's assuming the network is safe, and the computer is safe.

Generally, most people don't know. However, as soon as you start taking your wallet with you there's additional risk, whether through theft or losing it. If you don't have a backup, and lose that phone or corruption occurs you could be screwed. However, I won't get into that here.

The most important thing to consider is a mobile phone that you're carrying on you frequently has a bigger attack surface than that of a computer at home, simply because of physical theft or threats.

[Taskford]

A crypto investor who uses mobile phone to store coins shouldn't allow any one to access their phone, talking about close friends in this case is stupid, I use mobile wallets and I have never allowed my friends to operate my phone for any reasons, lost of phone is possible and robbery attack is a valid point but if you copy down your recovery seed at home in a safe location you can move your coins easily.

Wallet on phone for an investor? Investor will have huge amount and phone is not good to be used, phone is very vulnerable, I can not have any amount I can not afford to lose on phone as a wallet, I can only use it for small amount of bitcoin or never use it at all. You can freely use paper wallet or buy a hardware wallet which are cold wallets.

For sure all of us are investors because we are here to earn by putting money on crypto we think it can give profits to us. And the risk from this matter is for the huge whales because storing money from phone app wallets is not the best option to ve made knowing that their are so many scam wallets,phising attempts and also other type of attacks which hackers penetrate unto their platform.

[pakhitheboss]

I think it all depends on the user of the wallet. It is not that only mobile wallet are vulnerable to attacks there has been a lot of reports on how desktop and hardware wallets have been attacked. Holding your assets on any wallets can be risky if a user doesn't know how to safe guard the wallet. You cannot blame on a particular device or pinpoint a particular being risky.

[Doan9269]

storing money from phone app wallets is not the best option to ve made knowing that their are so many scam wallets,phising attempts and also other type of attacks which hackers penetrate unto their platform.

this is one of the reasons why the type of wallet used is very important, we continue to advise for a push on the use of offline or cold storage for safety, using a decentralized exchange wallet is a good idea as well for mobile users but one thing that secure the safety of the coins from a lost mobile phone is when the keys to accessing the coins is protected such that only the user have access to it, the wallet can be accessed and recovered back using the keys that link access to the coins on the blockchain.

I think it all depends on the user of the wallet. It is not that only mobile wallet are vulnerable to attacks there has been a lot of reports on how desktop and hardware wallets have been attacked

you're somewhat right but when we consider the rate of the attacks we could come about this conclusion, first you believe with me that most mobile wallets are web or online wallets, without having your ohone stolen already it is not advisable using them because they are more vulnerable to attack or data breach, while most challenges from Hardware or desktop wallet were almost from the users end being careless to how they handle their keys.

[AakZaki]

I think it all depends on the user of the wallet. It is not that only mobile wallet are vulnerable to attacks there has been a lot of reports on how desktop and hardware wallets have been attacked. Holding your assets on any wallets can be risky if a user doesn't know how to safe guard the wallet. You cannot blame on a particular device or pinpoint a particular being risky.

All wallets do have risks and the level of risk depends on what wallet is used. Mobile wallets are indeed very vulnerable to malware attacks and some phishing applications etc. because the phone is easy to be compromised because it is always online 24 hours. Meanwhile, computer devices can also be attacked by malware methods through applications that will be installed or through hidden advertisements. there will be many ways that can be done by scammers to hack mobile wallets and computer devices.
Whereas hardware wallets are not as easy as other wallets. Because security is better and need some verification.

who become vulnerable are the users themselves. they should know how to properly secure a wallet and not be careless.

[_act_]

For sure all of us are investors because we are here to earn by putting money on crypto we think it can give profits to us. And the risk from this matter is for the huge whales because storing money from phone app wallets is not the best option to ve made knowing that their are so many scam wallets,phising attempts and also other type of attacks which hackers penetrate unto their platform.

There are reputable mobile wallets, but the risk lies more in carrying the phone with you daily, but you are also not wrong at all, people are more using phones this days for online activities, the more such online activities can be a chance of phishing attack. Experienced people can easily spot phishing attack but there is also more risk to other attacks like malware as well and for people that hold, it would have just been better on cold storage as the coins are not frequently accessed.

I think it all depends on the user of the wallet. It is not that only mobile wallet are vulnerable to attacks there has been a lot of reports on how desktop and hardware wallets have been attacked. Holding your assets on any wallets can be risky if a user doesn't know how to safe guard the wallet. You cannot blame on a particular device or pinpoint a particular being risky.

That is true, no matter the wallet someone is using, there are still a probabilities that money can still be stolen, no wallet is totally safe unless you that owns it is making it safe and avoid online attacks and people around you not to compromise it, but this does not change that online wallets are more/most vulnerable to attacks than offline wallets.