Apple Sued After Fake iPhone Wallet App Drained $1.8M in Bitcoin

[PrivacyG]

Due to the strong privacy configurations and the ios operating system of the Apple, it has been that due to the security layers of the device, many user's of the forum had also tend to recommend the Apple device as reliable hardware to store bitcoin.

You can have the strongest Bitcoin Hardware Wallet built in a bunker isolated from outside world like a Faraday cage.  If you put your Seed in a webpage promising you 'the newest update' for it, that level of security means absolutely nothing.

[Peanutswar]

Ive seen this news across into the different social media because of the large amount vanish to the user. For me actually both of them has an accountability. First is the Apple we know they have one of the restricted platforms when it comes to release with their Apple store but instead this fake wallet release to their store itself so its considered an accountability to them. Next is the user quite gets confident too much with the Apple itself because they directly downloaded to the Store instead visiting the website of the wallet. Now AFAIK only action taken by the Apple is to remove the impersonating apps into their store. Our wallet, our responsibility.

Due to the strong privacy configurations and the ios operating system of the Apple, it has been that due to the security layers of the device, many user's of the forum had also tend to recommend the Apple device as reliable hardware to store bitcoin.

You can have the strongest Bitcoin Hardware Wallet built in a bunker isolated from outside world like a Faraday cage.  If you put your Seed in a webpage promising you 'the newest update' for it, that level of security means absolutely nothing.

This is the reason why security is nothing if the user itself is the vulnerability.

[Pmalek]

Not the first,wont be last either..
I remember Pmalek created  a thread about similar Fake sparrow wallet that stole BTC from a long term holder :https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5552731.0 . I think he also lauched a campaign that took down a fake sparrow wallet.. it's back again

I don't understand why someone with so much money just decide to download a wallet with zero research on a mobile wallet.. A quick search will even tell them Sparrow has no mobile wallet.

Some people just have bad habits. Even those who are supposed to know better teach people to find and install software in the wrong way.

I heard about an interesting open-source app the other day. It has nothing to do with bitcoin, crypto, or anything like that, so there is no point in mentioning the name here. Because I never used the app, I went to YouTube to watch a few videos to see how it works, what features it has, etc. I found two good explanatory videos. What both videos have in common is the way the creators explain how to install the app. They don't tell the viewers to visit the official homepage or the GitHub repository. Instead, they instruct them to go to app stores and search for the software there. The app in question isn't a financial app of any kind and it's not an interesting target for scammers, but they are still teaching people in a bad way.

[Die_empty]

I don't know much about the subject, but I think  Apple has more responsibility of what goes inside their store than google.

Apple charges a fee for the money developers make  in the app listed. So they have some responsibility of what goes in there.

I am always impressed by the amount of people that put millions of dollars in a mobile wallet 

Apple was also careless, as one of the victims reported the fraud and nothing was done. Nine days later, another victim downloaded the same counterfeit Sparrow Wallet app. For nine days, nobody contacted the first victims concerning the reports he sent, and the wallet was still listed. This is clear negligence.  

Apple even ranked the fake wallet, which might give users the impression that it has been verified to be the authentic wallet app.

The plaintiffs have a good case if they hired the right lawyers.

Putting millions in a scam-prone online wallet when a few hundred dollars can keep funds safe in hardware wallets.

[Akaenyi]

Yes, that's right. I saw it reported in several online media outlets in our area, and it quickly spread. You have to be careful, because at first glance, I read that the original Sparrow Wallet is a desktop Bitcoin wallet (for computers). Many app versions are questionable or disguised as Sparrow Wallet. It's a shame for the victims who suffer losses by downloading directly without verifying their official address. Sadly, most people assume that once it's in the App Store, it's more or less safe. It turns out that's not always true.

A lot of people makes the mistake of assuming that App Store is reputable and anything that is downloaded from it must be authentic, that mindset will lead them to trust blindly and unfortunately some will download fake apps. Clearly App Store and play store are vulnerable to scam sites and the evidence is the different reports that we are hearing everytime, everybody that wants to download anything should first research to make sure that they are not downloading a fake app. Crypto users should understand that there are many scam wallets online and before they click on anything that they are not very sure they should first know how to research so they won't become victims.

[Outhue]

Correct me if I am wrong, I am not a fan of iPhones because I believe they are even more vulnerable than android, many people still believe otherwise but this is my own opinion, pls correct me if this is wrong, there is no way to install third party apps on iPhone without its app store right?

If Yes then this victim has every right to sue them, because what the hell? How did a fake app manage to get pass their stupid security undetected? People will surely install them on their iPhone, I doubt that this person is only the victim, there are probably others who can't get them sue because of location and the ability to do so..

What a shame.

As for people using iPhones and Androids to store their Bitcoin, keep doing that, you will all learn the hardest ways possible, you can't have alot of Bitcoin and choose to use a phone wallet to store them.

[Pmalek]

Correct me if I am wrong, I am not a fan of iPhones because I believe they are even more vulnerable than android, many people still believe otherwise but this is my own opinion, pls correct me if this is wrong, there is no way to install third party apps on iPhone without its app store right?

You can install third-party applications and other marketplaces besides the App Store on iPhones. You can even get apps from GitHub. I don't have an iPhone and never owned one, so I can't help you with step-by-step instructions. But I don't think it's hard to learn.

If Yes then this victim has every right to sue them, because what the hell? How did a fake app manage to get pass their stupid security undetected?

These things happen. If you think that's bad, imagine how unsecure Google's PlayStore is. Even if Apple messes up from time to time, they don't make nearly as many mistakes as Google does with its store.

[PostQuantumBTC]

Whether the vulnerability of the device as a result of the user's loosing their bitcoins came as a result of projected malwares or downloading fake files, they're all malwares modified to cause weakness and comprises the security of the Apple device, some may also just steal the necessary informations with all efforts on how to steal the user's fund's.

The fake apps are not malware, but fake apps that are capable to have bad effect on your device can have malware like trojan or rootkit which can be used to steal information from your device.

Due to the strong privacy configurations and the ios operating system of the Apple, it has been that due to the security layers of the device, many user's of the forum had also tend to recommend the Apple device as reliable hardware to store bitcoin.

I do not think this is true, what I have seen people recommend the most is Linux OS and not iOS or macOS, but Linux is also not resistant to malware, it is you that have to protect yourself regardless of the OS that you are using. People like Linux because it is open source.

[dansus021]

damn that is why we do need double check on everything including app on official store like play store and app store.

this happen actually in indonesian airdrop community and happen not once but many times it include fake solflare wallet on play store that the user drained for 80K usd because download the fake wallet. And somehow this is work like everytime, I dont know how the fake dev can put their app on official without being suspected. I do believe that the developer of that fake wallet somehow find a loop hole or a bug on store.

Usually the original wallet gonna put link on their website that have md5 hash so we can check it wheter the app is original or not or some wallet didnt put their app on store but directly on their website

[tech30338]

Some people thinks that wallets in the playstore or apple store are 100% safe, and they never check or review before usong any of them, that is ehy they fall victim.
Same also happen in our country where they sometimes install a fake one, and their funds where drain its also our responsibility to make sure things are okay before using wallets even though they say its safe, because google and playstore does not check everything or its done lightly.

[Woodie]

And I thought iPhone/apple users boasted that the ios ecosystem was safe from malware unlike using android or windows operating systems,  but draining 1.8mil damn this is a big one..

With all these exploits happening,  could this be because of EU regulation which is making apple to lose its total control ?? Already i know data cables can be used to hack a device and apple was immune but moving to type C don't know if they can boast of a secure devices..

[Sim_card]

This is funny, why will one have such huge amount of money in Bitcoin and still uses a hot wallet. Such amount of money should be stored on a cold storage wallet like a hardware wallet or Electrum cold storage. I see this as a foolish thing to do because how much is a hardware wallet in the first place. Be careful with the wallet app you're about to download.

[promise444c5]

They don't tell the viewers to visit the official homepage or the GitHub repository. Instead, they instruct them to go to app stores and search for the software there. The app in question isn't a financial app of any kind and it's not an interesting target for scammers, but they are still teaching people in a bad way.

That’s literally what has been incorporated into most people over the  years and it’s become so normal even though it’s a very bad and wrong practice.

Funny part is that most people having a wallet can’t even tell if such wallet have an official site or not.. They just wake up download a wallet as suggested by someone from App Store or Playstore , blindly trust it and dump Millions into it ..

After eventually losing some money, they do what’s meant to have been done before downloading such wallet

The sooner people start realising they are responsible for their loss, the more they stop trusting these companies blindly.

[Cookdata]

Ive seen this news across into the different social media because of the large amount vanish to the user. For me actually both of them has an accountability. First is the Apple we know they have one of the restricted platforms when it comes to release with their Apple store but instead this fake wallet release to their store itself so its considered an accountability to them. Next is the user quite gets confident too much with the Apple itself because they directly downloaded to the Store instead visiting the website of the wallet. Now AFAIK only action taken by the Apple is to remove the impersonating apps into their store. Our wallet, our responsibility.

It's because Apple has customer protection that's why they affected users sued Apple and they know very well that they stand a case with chance of getting their money but how naive people can be to download fake sparrow wallet. I mean the PC version of Sparrow wallet is not that easy, you must be well aware about security and know about wallets to think of using a PC version but all the knowledge about wallet disappeared the moment they saw a mobile version on App store, they didn't even verify. Lmao.

I know Apple messed up and suck at security auditing but what's there for to hire a Bitcoin developer to handle this job properly. They can accept developers deposit which are paid yearly, that's a huge numbers but to have a qualified person do the job is where they draw the line. I will not be surprised if they have an AI agent do app review before app are allowed on App store. I don't trust this company.

[arwin100]

Not the first,wont be last either..
I remember Pmalek created  a thread about similar Fake sparrow wallet that stole BTC from a long term holder :https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5552731.0 . I think he also lauched a campaign that took down a fake sparrow wallet.. it's back again

I don't understand why someone with so much money just decide to download a wallet with zero research on a mobile wallet.. A quick search will even tell them Sparrow has no mobile wallet.

Some people just have bad habits. Even those who are supposed to know better teach people to find and install software in the wrong way.

I heard about an interesting open-source app the other day. It has nothing to do with bitcoin, crypto, or anything like that, so there is no point in mentioning the name here. Because I never used the app, I went to YouTube to watch a few videos to see how it works, what features it has, etc. I found two good explanatory videos. What both videos have in common is the way the creators explain how to install the app. They don't tell the viewers to visit the official homepage or the GitHub repository. Instead, they instruct them to go to app stores and search for the software there. The app in question isn't a financial app of any kind and it's not an interesting target for scammers, but they are still teaching people in a bad way.

This is how the problem starts, since the scammer can use the video they created and put the link of their fake apps. Which is so bad for unaware individuals, since this can possibly cause financial loss to them.

It would be nice if those content creators became responsible  for creating more valuable and informative contents. Then have complete tutorial on which they redirect people to download what they need on legitimate sources. Since with that for sure they can save many people that can watch their video from fake apps came from unknown store or unverified sources

[Luzin]

Funny part is that most people having a wallet can’t even tell if such wallet have an official site or not.. They just wake up download a wallet as suggested by someone from App Store or Playstore , blindly trust it and dump Millions into it ..

What's worse is that they said their app store is safe and has gone through the team's validation process. The combination of users and developers is very convincing to trust and download it. Another advantage we understand is that Apple's App Store is a very famous product because it's premium, and this also brings a psychology of trust. Indeed, the main control is not with us, but with the money spent, Apple should also be responsible for its security. If situations like this keep happening, maybe Apple won't be the main choice for crypto users anymore. CMIIW IMO

[Ojima-ojo]

The thing that baffles me here is that someone actually used mobile phone wallet to store such a big amount of money. I mean, I personally don't store more than few hundreds of dollars worth of crypto on my hot wallet, and here we have people running around with almost million of dollars in their pocket.

Tbh, this was just accident waiting to happen, and if they didn't lose money on this fake wallet, sooner or later they would lose it in some other way.

I do not think a hardware wallet can safe someone like them either, there were few fake Ledger and Trezor apps on Apple store which some people used to lose their money too. I am not really sure of Trezor Suite but I am sure of the Ledger app. They can also use it and lost their bitcoin. Anyone that want to invest in bitcoin need to learn how they will avoid all these. You are right, they can buy a hardware wallet with less than $100 or they can do an offline device that will cost not more than a $100.

Any wallet that connects you online already exposed your funds, when the Apple store began to bring in some of those wallet and the whole integration development thing I know already that cases like this will happen sooner or later.
.                                       
Securing your Bitcoin through hardware wallets not mobile apps that leave your Bitcoin vulnerable to incidents like this or others like theft of device and so on, we should always be prepared and avoid leaving large amount of money on such high risks space even if it a hard wallet apps.

[PostQuantumBTC]

I do not think a hardware wallet can safe someone like them either, there were few fake Ledger and Trezor apps on Apple store which some people used to lose their money too. I am not really sure of Trezor Suite but I am sure of the Ledger app. They can also use it and lost their bitcoin. Anyone that want to invest in bitcoin need to learn how they will avoid all these. You are right, they can buy a hardware wallet with less than $100 or they can do an offline device that will cost not more than a $100.

Any wallet that connects you online already exposed your funds, when the Apple store began to bring in some of those wallet and the whole integration development thing I know already that cases like this will happen sooner or later.
.                                       
Securing your Bitcoin through hardware wallets not mobile apps that leave your Bitcoin vulnerable to incidents like this or others like theft of device and so on, we should always be prepared and avoid leaving large amount of money on such high risks space even if it a hard wallet apps.

People can lose their money on an hardware wallet, they need to learn how to protect their bitcoin.

Have you read about what happened to Coldcard users? Almost 600 bitcoin has been lost. What has been noticed is that the way the hardware wallet is generating seed phrase is not secure. The wallet has been existing since 7 years ago.

Luckily I have not recommended anyone to use Coldcard before.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

I do not know if we have discussed about this before, but I could remember similar incident which is not about lawsuit but about how some iPhone users downloaded fake Sparrow on App store and this could be part of the people that were affected at the time. Also Apple generally has been susceptible to vulnerabilities which affect users that do not avoid malware. But this is not about avoiding malware, it about downloading fake wallet on the App store.

It is a big shame to see that even iPhone is not to be trusted any longer as long as they allow for fake application to be used on their device, I don't think we have to blame the app store on this because if it is not really coming from iPhone, such you don't have been permitted in the first place, the this shows that are likely to be aware of it and choose to do nothing, there have been every means to ensure that our crypto asset are taken away from us either by one way or the other, but we must also not allow for this to happen.

[OLDBOY 003]

I do not know if we have discussed about this before, but I could remember similar incident which is not about lawsuit but about how some iPhone users downloaded fake Sparrow on App store and this could be part of the people that were affected at the time. Also Apple generally has been susceptible to vulnerabilities which affect users that do not avoid malware. But this is not about avoiding malware, it about downloading fake wallet on the App store.

It is a big shame to see that even iPhone is not to be trusted any longer as long as they allow for fake application to be used on their device, I don't think we have to blame the app store on this because if it is not really coming from iPhone, such you don't have been permitted in the first place, the this shows that are likely to be aware of it and choose to do nothing, there have been every means to ensure that our crypto asset are taken away from us either by one way or the other, but we must also not allow for this to happen.

It seems we placed our faith in the App Store, which in turn placed its trust in the app, while the app relied on the integrity of our crypto wallet. Now, it feels like the only thing left to count on is our own instincts! Let's make sure to verify everything thoroughly before our crypto decides to take an extended break!