According to the Washington Post, a Bitcoin fraud app designed to look like a genuine app was accepted by Apple’s app store review team, eventually causing iPhone user Phillipe Christodoulou to lose 17.1 Bitcoins. It was worth more than $600,000 when it was stolen.
Christodoulou wanted to check his Bitcoin balance in February and searched for “Trezor” in Apple’s App Store. This company made his hardware device for storing cryptocurrency. He saw an app with a Trezor padlock logo and a green background, so he downloaded the app and entered his credentials.
Unfortunately, this app is fake and was designed to look like a genuine app to deceive Bitcoin owners. Christodoulou’s total Bitcoin balance was stolen, and he was angry with Apple. He told the “Washington Post”, “Apple should not escape this charge.”
Apple will review all submitted App Store apps to prevent fraudulent apps from being downloaded by iPhone users, but there are also many fraudulent and plagiarized apps like fake Trezor apps that have slipped away, causing significant losses to iPhone users.
Apple said that the fake Trezor app entered the App Store through “bait and switch.” It is called Trezor, uses Trezor’s logo and colors, and claims to be an “encryption” application that can encrypt iPhone files and store passwords.
The developer of this fake app told Apple that it “does not involve any cryptocurrency.” After submitting the fake Trezor app, it turned itself into a cryptocurrency wallet, and Apple could not detect it. Apple spokesman Fred Sainz told the Washington Post that when criminals defraud iPhone users, Apple will act quickly.
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The trust of users is the foundation for us to create the App Store. In the following years, we have only deepened this commitment. One study after another shows that the App Store is the safest application market in the world. We have been working hard to maintain this standard and further strengthen the App Store’s protective measures. In limited circumstances, when criminals defraud our users, we will quickly take action against these actors, while also preventing similar violations in the future.
Apple declined to comment on how often scam apps are found and how often they are removed from the App Store. However, the company did say that 6,500 apps were deleted last year due to “hidden or undocumented features.”
Apple admitted that it has found other cryptocurrency scams on the App Store, but did not provide specific digital details, nor did it provide any fake Trezor apps in the past. Trezor does not provide an iOS application at all. A Trezor spokesperson said that for “years”, Apple and Google have been notified about counterfeit Trezor applications.
Apple is unwilling to provide the Washington Post with the name of the developer of the fake Trezor app, and whether the developer has published other apps under other names in the App Store, and Apple is unwilling to disclose whether the name has been handed over to law enforcement officials. Apple said that after the real Trezor company reported it, Apple deleted the fake Trezor application and banned the developer. Another fake app appeared two days later, and Apple deleted it.
Coinbase, a UK-based cryptocurrency regulator, said that since 2019, it has received more than 7,000 inquiries about stolen crypto assets, and fake apps found in Google Play and App Store are common complaints. In fact, the cryptocurrencies of 5 people have been stolen by the fake Trezor app on iOS, with losses totaling US$1.6 million.
Data from Sensor Tower showed that from January 22 to February 3, the fake Trezor application was downloaded about 1,000 times on the App Store. The 17.1 bitcoins that Christodoulou lost are now worth nearly $1 million. Christodoulou said that he has not received any news from Apple about this matter. Another iPhone user who lost $14,000 of Ethereum and Bitcoin said that an Apple representative told him that Apple is not responsible for the loss of the fake Trezor app.
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