Digital Wallet

Story: Kaspersky Uncovers 26 Fake Crypto Wallet Apps Stealing Funds Through Apple Store

By Sakamoto Nashi

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How the Fake Apps Work. The fraudulent apps don't look suspicious at first. They offer random features like games and…

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Counterfeit Hardware Devices Join the Mix. A fake Ledger Nano S Plus device turned up in a separate phishing operation.

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Kaspersky just caught 26 fake cryptocurrency wallet apps on Apple's App Store. These things were built to drain digital assets from users who thought they were downloading the…

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The scam apps pretend to be MetaMask, Ledger, and Coinbase wallets. Users install what looks like a legit app, then get pushed to phishing pages that look exactly like the App…

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The fraudulent apps don't look suspicious at first. They offer random features like games and calculators to pass Apple's initial review process. Pretty clever, actually.

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Installing that profile lets the app pull in software from outside the App Store. Apple's normal security checks don't catch it.

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Cyber attackers found a way to exploit Apple's enterprise developer tools. These tools were meant for companies to distribute internal apps to employees.

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The scam works because many official versions of popular wallet apps aren't available in the Chinese iOS App Store. That gap creates demand, and the fake apps fill it.

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A fake Ledger Nano S Plus device turned up in a separate phishing operation. Someone bought it through an online marketplace, and it looked totally genuine at first glance.

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A Brazilian researcher took the thing apart and found mismatched components inside. The device had extra WiFi and Bluetooth antennas that shouldn't be there.

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Read also: HackerOne Logs 85,000 Valid Bug Reports in 2025 as AI Tools Flood Platforms

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This attack didn't exploit any vulnerability in Ledger's actual security system. It relied on fake hardware and phishing to compromise users.

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When the fake Ledger connected to Ledger Live, it immediately failed verification. That's when the owner knew something was wrong.

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The fake apps on the App Store used a similar deception tactic. They included basic features that made them seem harmless.

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Users thought they were downloading the wallet app they wanted. Instead, they got a trojanized version that immediately started working to steal their funds.

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