With the return of the highly anticipated bull market, there has also been an increase in the number of scams. Criminals are trying to get their hands on as much Bitcoin as they can and hodlers should be extra careful where they store their valuable Bitcoin. The latest scam is fake crypto wallets on Googe Play Store.

Fake crypto wallets on Google Play Store causing havoc

Recently, two fake crypto wallets have been identified on the Google Play Store. Targeting Android users, the malicious apps are called Coin Wallet and Trezor Mobile Wallet. It was discovered by security provider ESET and has consequently been removed from the Play Store.

Coin Wallet had the same features as any other crypto wallet. One can create a wallet and it will host a variety of cryptos. However, it was a scam since the wallet address was not unique but was a developer-owned wallet. In fact, there were 13 wallets in total for 13 different currencies. Depending on the currency users wanted to hodl, they would be issued with the wallet address specific to that currency.

The second wallet, Trezor Mobile Wallet was an attempt to impersonate the Trezor wallet. Trezor is a well-known and trusted device that allows for cold storage of cryptos. When downloading the app, users were instructed to enter login details and this info was sent to a server that was in fact controlled by the developers. When it comes to the actual Trezor cold storage wallet, there are multiple security layers that are built into the device that prevents anyone from access your wallet.

Check out the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet on the Bitmart online store.

Wallet address scams

ESET Malware Researcher Lukas Stefanko said in a blog post urged hodlers to be attentive to wallet address scams. Wallet address scams are meant to trick users into depositing cryptos into the attackers’ wallets. Both malicious apps accepted Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Tether and were installed by more than 1 000 users.

At first glance, the apps seemed legit as it featured the right name, app category and description, images and developer name. Also, it was the second result when searching for “Trezor.” However, what gave it away was the icon that appeared once the app was downloaded since it differed a great deal from the real Trezor icon.

Stefanko said it is not surprising that cybercrooks are targeting crypto users by means of various scams and malicious apps.

The price of Bitcoin is $8 718.15 and Ethereum is $270.41 according to Coinmarketcap.