Not all crypto apps in App stores are safe

Bitcoin_Arena

copper member

Activity: 2114

Merit: 1814

฿itcoin for all, All for ฿itcoin.

Quote from: Harlot on February 19, 2019, 06:34:29 AM

When it comes to downloadable apps may it be exchanges or wallet apps I always look for the announcements in their actual website itself. This way I know that they do have an official downloadable app in the app store, other than that I always prefer on clicking the redirect links being given by these websites so that it leads me right straight to their download page without the hassle for searching it on my own.

This is the exact thing to so I have been trying to put so much emphasis in it... Get to the official website, Get the download links from the official site, Do a direct download or get redirected to the app stores using the links from the official websites

Quote from: whotookmycrypto on February 20, 2019, 02:59:16 AM

Good stuff and when looking at reviews. Be very careful too.

Some scammers have included reviews in their logos. Don't fall for that. Example:

Credit: https://twitter.com/LukasStefanko/status/1092356795211935744

Thanks for bringing this attention. That's why it's very important to always read the reviews rather than just look at the star rating.

whotookmycrypto

full member

Activity: 168

Merit: 214

WhoTookMyCrypto.com

Good stuff and when looking at reviews. Be very careful too.

Some scammers have included reviews in their logos. Don't fall for that. Example:

Credit: https://twitter.com/LukasStefanko/status/1092356795211935744

Harlot

hero member

Activity: 1806

Merit: 672

When it comes to downloadable apps may it be exchanges or wallet apps I always look for the announcements in their actual website itself. This way I know that they do have an official downloadable app in the app store, other than that I always prefer on clicking the redirect links being given by these websites so that it leads me right straight to their download page without the hassle for searching it on my own. I have this issue before where a newly launched wallet have several "official" apps in the app store, that got me curious and after some research work I found out that they still have no apps being develop as of the moment.

Bitcoin_Arena

copper member

Activity: 2114

Merit: 1814

฿itcoin for all, All for ฿itcoin.

After reading the article that was in the post which was made in the scam accusation board; Google Play Store Caught Hosting Fake Metamask Crypto Malware

I decided that maybe bumping this thread for visibility once more wouldn't help sensitize new some members who might not know anything about how fake apps have infiltrated the app stores.

LTU_btc

legendary

Activity: 3234

Merit: 1375

Slava Ukraini!

Quote from: Gargo on December 09, 2018, 10:33:59 AM

I'm not an Apple fan Cheesy

Actually I don't like Apple! I'm using Android Wink

I just don't use mobile wallets.
I am not technically strong enough to explain exactly what the Android gaps are, but I will give you examples of interesting articles about this:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-risk-for-mobile-android-wallet-users

This one is very old, but also interesting:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/critical-vulnerability-found-in-android-wallets-1376273924/

I hope It will help.

Thanks for the links to these articles. I'm not saying that Android is perfect system, as your links shows. But in my opinion, in mostly cases it's fault of phone users that they lost monry. They are just not careful enough - they download fake wallets, don't use antivirus, 2fa and etc. If you don't follow even basic security suggestions, you're unsafe, no matter which system you're using - Android, Windows or iOS. I found one article https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/01/24/hackers-targeting-apple-google-app-stores-with-malicious-crypto-apps.html and I'm actually surprised that some fake crypto apps were found on Apple App Store also.

jeremyscott

newbie

Activity: 54

Merit: 0

you can never be too careful when it comes to these kind of apps. especially ones that involve your own money :/

Gargo

sr. member

Activity: 585

Merit: 251

Quote from: LTU_btc on December 07, 2018, 06:53:06 PM

Quote from: Gargo on December 07, 2018, 02:45:55 PM

If we're talking about Android apps, then we can say, that probably none app is safe. Android has so many gaps in the system that every good hacker will have no problem getting into your mobile wallet.

Tell us more about what exactly you're talking. Or it's just whataboutism from Apple fan?

I'm not an Apple fan Cheesy

Actually I don't like Apple! I'm using Android Wink

I just don't use mobile wallets.
I am not technically strong enough to explain exactly what the Android gaps are, but I will give you examples of interesting articles about this:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-risk-for-mobile-android-wallet-users

This one is very old, but also interesting:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/critical-vulnerability-found-in-android-wallets-1376273924/

I hope It will help.

madnessteat

legendary

Activity: 2310

Merit: 2073

Great advice for beginners. I advise you to always download cryptocurrency wallets that are listed only on the official websites of the projects or on github. It should never let you down. If you do not know the official website of the token, you can watch it on coinmarketcap.com

cizatext

member

Activity: 952

Merit: 41

Your analysis are very correct not all apps in appstore are secured in fact the regular cases of hacking into wallets always come from apps from google playstore each time you download any application from the app store your give access to hackers to have access to your personal files and private keys. I lost my coin on an exchange like that.

Thirdspace

hero member

Activity: 1232

Merit: 738

Mixing reinvented for your privacy | chipmixer.com

Quote from: Bitcoin_Arena on December 06, 2018, 02:47:38 PM

1. Always try as much as possible to download Exchange and Wallet apps from official site links to avoid landing on fake apps in playstore.

this one act will save you countless time from downloading rogue apps
and make sure the official site is also a legitimate well known business that has been around for awhile
an official site without good business track record could still pose a threat and have hidden agenda in its app

DdmrDdmr

legendary

Activity: 2338

Merit: 10802

There are lies, damned lies and statistics. MTwain

I came across a post on a personal website (see Fake cryptocurrency wallets found on Play Store), where the author, a malware researcher that works for ESET, writes about how he found recently four Apps on Google Play Store that were fake, and impersonating existing cryptocurrency wallets for Neo, Tether and Metamask.

The author claims that these apps often act as phishing apps or fake wallets where you do not really have the private keys at all. What surprised me most, is that apparently, these apps were created using a drag & drop builder, that required close to zero programming knowledge …

Freewallet

member

Activity: 554

Merit: 11

Quote from: mk4 on December 08, 2018, 08:50:19 AM

Quote from: Freewallet on December 08, 2018, 06:33:51 AM

Hello,

Thank you for your opinion. We believe it is a matter of personal choice which kind of wallet to use.
We've been providing our service to millions of users throughout the world quite for long. Had we short-term and "dark" goals, we'd leave this market a long time ago.
BTW, our apps are qualified for the Apple Store, too, with a so far good rating.
Every active service is receiveing hundreds of complaints a week and can be often referred to as a "scam" one.
We are always ready to face each individual complaint and resolve it.

Hi. First off, I'm definitely not saying that you're a scam or something, as I haven't tried using your service.

With that said, I'm pretty sure even your service is receiving a good amount of complaints due to accounts getting locked for whatever reasons(due to the complaints I've read in the past on Reddit r/bitcoin and r/cryptocurrency), not only other wallets. Not sure right now though, as I barely visit Reddit these days.

I'm afraid only we can know if the person spamming on BitcoinTalk, Reddit and other social media has been suspected and found in illegal activity and hacking attempts. Attracting attention is also technique hackers, black PR employees, etc use to spam other services. For example, there is an account on Reddit who's posted about 20 posts attracting attention to his 'account block' but after people saw that his story was different every time, he lost credibility. This is just one of the cases.

What makes Freewallet and our support team different is that we strive to find every user complaint or report and follow up on it.
In conclusion, big titles are big on attracting attention but only in comments you will see a resolution.

molecularman

full member

Activity: 406

Merit: 102

It's a good idea to bring this up.

It is really easy to get lulled into a false sense of security. Hey, it is on the official app store, must be safe, right?? I don't use mobile wallets, but if you do - just go straight to the source, make it a secondary wallet and only put the crypto you intend to use for that day on it. That's the only way to minimize your risk.

mk4

legendary

Activity: 2870

Merit: 3873

Paldo.io 🤖

Quote from: Freewallet on December 08, 2018, 06:33:51 AM

Hello,

Thank you for your opinion. We believe it is a matter of personal choice which kind of wallet to use.
We've been providing our service to millions of users throughout the world quite for long. Had we short-term and "dark" goals, we'd leave this market a long time ago.
BTW, our apps are qualified for the Apple Store, too, with a so far good rating.
Every active service is receiveing hundreds of complaints a week and can be often referred to as a "scam" one.
We are always ready to face each individual complaint and resolve it.

Hi. First off, I'm definitely not saying that you're a scam or something, as I haven't tried using your service.

With that said, I'm pretty sure even your service is receiving a good amount of complaints due to accounts getting locked for whatever reasons(due to the complaints I've read in the past on Reddit r/bitcoin and r/cryptocurrency), not only other wallets. Not sure right now though, as I barely visit Reddit these days.

Freewallet

member

Activity: 554

Merit: 11

Hello,

Thank you for your opinion. We believe it is a matter of personal choice which kind of wallet to use.
We've been providing our service to millions of users throughout the world quite for long. Had we short-term and "dark" goals, we'd leave this market a long time ago.
BTW, our apps are qualified for the Apple Store, too, with a so far good rating.
Every active service is receiveing hundreds of complaints a week and can be often referred to as a "scam" one.
We are always ready to face each individual complaint and resolve it.

mk4

legendary

Activity: 2870

Merit: 3873

Paldo.io 🤖

Quote from: Freewallet on December 07, 2018, 01:05:12 PM

Quote from: Adriano2010 on December 07, 2018, 12:48:37 PM

Yes not all apps are free of viruses, and is recommend to use the most used apps that have not any problem or scam accusation and if want store large amounts better invest in hardware wallet, i think is the safest way to secure your money and not cost a lot. Better stay safe than losing all earned money.

Freewallet counts 3million users + across its platforms. Right now, I wouldn't even know a wallet with such a great database without both positive and negative feedback. Providing such an extensive service exposes us to competition but we are happy to take it on and provide the best service in the market. Wink

Hi. I'm not talking about security here. I'm mostly talking about account access or access to funds. FreeWallet doesn't provide their users their wallet's private keys, which is a huge drawback and defeats the purpose of "being your own bank" with bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies in general.

LTU_btc

legendary

Activity: 3234

Merit: 1375

Slava Ukraini!

Good topic, OP. This is a serious problem nowadays. There are lot fake wallets in Google Play store. The problem that is very easy to upload app to Google Play - you only have to pay $25 sign up fee. These apps don't even have to checked by Google staff. iOS is better at this aspect because it's more difficult to upload apps to their store.
But it's not that difficult to spot fake wallet. Usually original wallet are shown at the top of search results. Original wallets usually have large number of downloads and many reviews, while one of indicators of fake wallet is small number of doenloads and reviews.

Quote from: Freewallet on December 07, 2018, 01:03:16 PM

Freewallet uses an account verification procedure to prevent hacking attempts and money laundering. We have an excellent track record of blocking accounts used for illicit activities and we will keep improving our security algorithm.

If you have not been suspected in any illegal activity, you are more than welcome to use Freewallet.

Centralized wallet which can seize users money if they find something what they don't like - this is what we really need. IMO, such wallets aren't much better than these fake wallets mentioned in this topic.

Quote from: Gargo on December 07, 2018, 02:45:55 PM

If we're talking about Android apps, then we can say, that probably none app is safe. Android has so many gaps in the system that every good hacker will have no problem getting into your mobile wallet.

Tell us more about what exactly you're talking. Or it's just whataboutism from Apple fan?

Gargo

sr. member

Activity: 585

Merit: 251

If we're talking about Android apps, then we can say, that probably none app is safe. Android has so many gaps in the system that every good hacker will have no problem getting into your mobile wallet.

kingpin4321

member

Activity: 280

Merit: 14

Yes for sure infact not everything on the internet is safe but I would say our best option would be play store or apple store.

But it's best to get app from the original source but they might direct you to stores so that you can be able to get them

Coyster

legendary

Activity: 2184

Merit: 1302

It's always necessary to go through customer reviews before downloading an app to see if previous customers have had issues with such applications or if there are numerous scams accusations,that way such Info gets you to stay away from downloading through that source.

Topic: Not all crypto apps in App stores are safe (Read 564 times)