Mobile app drained users

[bhadz]

An app in Google Play disguised under the name of Walletconnect was able to steal over $70,000 from 150 users over only a couple of months the app allows people to connect their wallets into dapps and the fake app was downloaded for about 10,000 times but not everyone used the service because of suspicion.

The company says that this is the first time that a mobile app is exclusively used to steal from mobile users this is alarming because it was on google play and not everyone could have seen that it was fake and thought of it as legitimate since it is on the famous Google Play.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-wallet-drainer-google-play-stole-70k-check-point

For many airdrop people, this connecting of wallet is very common. That's why before anyone download an app or wallet to connect. Check every resource if that's an official app or source. Because these mobile apps can easily obtain our data and even the wallets that we use through mobile. I am not a fan of this kind of accessing my wallet through mobile and if I do, I wouldn't store most of my funds through a wallet mobile app.

[Faisal2202]

An app in Google Play disguised under the name of Walletconnect was able to steal over $70,000 from 150 users over only a couple of months the app allows people to connect their wallets into dapps and the fake app was downloaded for about 10,000 times but not everyone used the service because of suspicion.

The company says that this is the first time that a mobile app is exclusively used to steal from mobile users this is alarming because it was on google play and not everyone could have seen that it was fake and thought of it as legitimate since it is on the famous Google Play.

People connecting their wallets to an application that has only 10k downloads? That's their own mistake, I mean, who just connects their wallet full of money to any site even for a few bucks (which most likely they are also not giving) Nowadays, the airdrop hunt is on top, and everyone is trying to participate from their main wallets that have some past transactions made already so they could get more reward or their selection becomes guaranteed.

This is wrong, and we all should have a spare wallet and should keep a few dollars in it. If tx numbers matter for such people, then make some tx on it. Just keep your main wallet away from such sites and apps.

And this is not the first time a fraudulent application has been listed on Google Play if you will Google you will find a lot of stories of how people get scammed because they download apps on Google Play blindly which is also wrong.

[Zed0X]

~ this is alarming because it was on google play

It's been a while since I read something like this but it's not uncommon that scam apps make it to Google Play. What I'm more curious about is how it went that long before we see news about it. If I'm not mistaken, WalletConnect is also quite a known brand that's why I find it surprising.

[Z-tight]

What I'm more curious about is how it went that long before we see news about it. If I'm not mistaken, WalletConnect is also quite a known brand that's why I find it surprising.

I don't know much about walletconnect, but i am surprised too that there was that many victims and the app was up for a couple of months according to the story. Could it be that those who were scammed were not reporting the scam application that was up on google playstore, it is crazy honestly and people need to be more careful.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Some people have not learn anything yet about being very careful with the kind of app they download or use on their phone, especially the one that ask them to connect wallet. I don't download unknown app, if I have to, then I will search for the authenticity of the app on the search engine and if it's really a trusted app, I will be ask to download it from play store. Right from the beginning, people have lost their asset through connection of wallet to a Dapp or any platform that asked them to do so.

[Cryptsafe]

It is unfortunate that google play is now becoming porous in the sense that fake apps are beginning to flood in the platform to undo users who download them. People should just be careful to do their proper verification as to compare or visit website of the app they want to download for proper confirmation before download so as to avoid downloading a fake that could undo them while using it.

I think organizations should be able to provide  or make available as an alternative option for those who visit their website  the link to their app on google play store so that any visitor who visits their website and wants to make use of their app could just  click the direct link that would direct them to the right app to download on google play store. This might possibly help to reduce the rate at which people download fake apps via google play store.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

A little advise and subtle warning for some of us that like downloading for different apps form the playstore, we are going to have serious challenge with some random apps we keep downloading irregularly, before making a download, it is expected of us to first read on what has been said, the warning given and the link used to the same site intended for making the download, of which some of our device would have given us a warning sign, but our of negligence some of us will still went ahead to make the downloads.

[yhiaali3]

This is really unfortunate, the spread of fake apps on Google Play is very very dangerous because most users trust Google Play and therefore they are confident to download apps and connect their wallets and thus lose their assets.

Personally, when I want to download an app for wallets or exchanges, I first go to the official website and make sure it is the correct site and from there I click on the Google Play link to download the app safely, it is wrong to download apps through Google Play directly or through Google search because it may lead you to download phishing apps.

[libert19]

Lol, looks like scammers were quick to take advantage of walletconnect airdrop announcement.

People should check ratings and reviews first before installing, connecting wallet is much later thing. Most of high ratings is already a red flag and reviews say same — completely irrelevant matter in comments than what app is supposed to be about.

I would blame people's carelessness if they lost money in this.

[NotATether]

Wait a minute. Isn't Wallet Connect the name of a protocol that people use to connect their wallets to websites? I hear there's like 600 wallets that support it, so how would this possibly be (legitimately) distributed as a standalone app, and not bundled with other wallet apps which actually use said feature? It doesn't make any sense to make the user install it by itself.

[Gurujebs]

An app in Google Play disguised under the name of Walletconnect was able to steal over $70,000 from 150 users over only a couple of months the app allows people to connect their wallets into dapps and the fake app was downloaded for about 10,000 times but not everyone used the service because of suspicion.

This is why I don't use android apps, some people think thag IOS is every strict for not allowing many crypto apps on their store and that is because they are very careful of apps any random developer can create and put on their platform, this is what apple doesn't allow. As a matter of fact, apps under go a review before they are approved.

This is another clear lesson not to use online wallet. Not everyone can afford hardware wallet but it's better to even use the safe ones, I will rather download Trust wallet for currency need than download any other random wallet I don't know. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

[NotATether]

This is why I don't use android apps, some people think thag IOS is every strict for not allowing many crypto apps on their store and that is because they are very careful of apps any random developer can create and put on their platform, this is what apple doesn't allow. As a matter of fact, apps under go a review before they are approved.

Apple does not catch all the scam apps when they are reviewed for the App Store. Some of them can change the entire layout and theme of the app by sending some different HTML resources in the backend that correspond to different pages, and Apple can't see or control any of that.

It's the same problem with Google Play, but over there you can install whatever APK you want so if you've enabled that setting then you need to be extra careful.

[bitterguy28]

Wait a minute. Isn't Wallet Connect the name of a protocol that people use to connect their wallets to websites?

yes walletconnect is an open source protocol used to connect wallets to dapps on the web it does indeed support over 150 blockchains and 500 wallets

so how would this possibly be (legitimately) distributed as a standalone app, and not bundled with other wallet apps which actually use said feature? It doesn't make any sense to make the user install it by itself.

it’s just a clear example of user negligence users probably thought that there is a mobile version of the protocol and had installed it why would it be bundled with legitimate apps when this itself is not legitimate in the first place?

people should have been more careful and aware of what is real and what is not

[Sukii]

Wow I never thought one could get scammed through an app from plsy store this is the first time I'm hearing of such
So then what should we do in order to avoid being victims of these schemes hoe do we know the app is legit is there a way to know

[Baofeng]

An app in Google Play disguised under the name of Walletconnect was able to steal over $70,000 from 150 users over only a couple of months the app allows people to connect their wallets into dapps and the fake app was downloaded for about 10,000 times but not everyone used the service because of suspicion.

The company says that this is the first time that a mobile app is exclusively used to steal from mobile users this is alarming because it was on google play and not everyone could have seen that it was fake and thought of it as legitimate since it is on the famous Google Play.

People connecting their wallets to an application that has only 10k downloads? That's their own mistake, I mean, who just connects their wallet full of money to any site even for a few bucks (which most likely they are also not giving) Nowadays, the airdrop hunt is on top, and everyone is trying to participate from their main wallets that have some past transactions made already so they could get more reward or their selection becomes guaranteed.

10k downloads for others seems to enough to trust this application, but the thing is that this downloads could come from their inner groups, to make it looks like there are a lot of people who have downloaded it already. And so when the victims saw this, they didn't doubt.

And this is not the first time a fraudulent application has been listed on Google Play if you will Google you will find a lot of stories of how people get scammed because they download apps on Google Play blindly which is also wrong.

Yeah, not the first time, there have been multiple reports already, but the thing is that this scammers are also evolving that's why for a normal people, everything looks normal and real. But for those who have been in the crypto market, we should always have that element of "something is not right", and we should research more and verify before downloading any on our pc or laptop.