Saw a tweet about a musician G.love who lost almost 6 BTC using a fake Ledger wallet from the Mac App Store. ZachXBT said he traced the coins and they got laundered through KuCoin. If this is true, it’s a big reminder that app stores aren’t foolproof.
Check wallets before downloading
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Damn, that’s rough. But can’t really blame people when they don’t do their homework. Gotta read the instructions, especially about not entering seed phrases in apps. Common sense, right?
fewunderstandLegendary
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#3Jun 18, 2019, 09:59 PM
It’s crazy how they have an iOS version in the App Store but the desktop version is only on their site. Makes it super confusing. That dude probably thought he was safe since he got it from the App Store. Expensive lesson for sure.
For real, the Mac App Store is kinda sketch. So many fake apps out there imitating the big ones. I’d rather use brew to install than trust the App Store. Losing 6 BTC is no joke.
Seriously, people need to learn the basics about wallets. Downloading and verifying from official sites is a must. Don’t trust upgrade notifications. Always check PGP signatures.
wallet_2018Member
Posts: 37 · Reputation: 41
#6Jun 19, 2019, 04:06 AM
Remember when everyone used to say macOS was super secure? Times have changed. If you’ve got a Mac, you’ve got something worth stealing. This makes hackers more motivated.
Looking for wallets in app stores is a bad move. Got to go straight to the website. Incidents like this scare off new users who wanna get into crypto.
fewunderstandLegendary
Posts: 86 · Reputation: 5964
#8Jun 19, 2019, 09:48 AM
Sad but true, it was his own mistake. The app asked him for his seed phrase, and boom, all his coins gone. He even confirmed it on X.
Shit happens when you let your guard down. This musician's case is a wake-up call about wallet security and checking the legitimacy of the apps we download.
Best bet is always to go to the official site for downloads. Sure, there's still a risk, but it's way lower than third-party apps. Too bad for him, but hopefully, this teaches others to verify everything.
I can’t believe people still fall for this. Just check the wallet's official site for downloads. Don’t go through the App Store or any other party.
Surprised Apple even allows fake apps. Their security is usually tight. Maybe they need to step up their game with crypto apps.
chain_2011Newbie
Posts: 22 · Reputation: 28
#13Jun 21, 2019, 05:50 PM
I find it odd that Ledger only has the desktop app on their site. A lot of people think if it’s in the App Store, it’s legit. That’s a pricey lesson.
Totally agree, it’s risky looking for wallets in app stores. Companies like Apple don’t take the blame for loss. Always double-check the download source.
Phishing and hacking are getting out of hand. It’s all on the victims for not doing their research. Spending a little time could save a ton of money.
Half a million dollars lost just like that. He trusted Apple and got rekt. Some lessons are hard but necessary.
Looks like a rookie mistake. If he’d used a hardware wallet before, he would’ve known not to enter the seed phrase in an app.
alex_whaleMember
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#18Jun 25, 2019, 05:21 AM
Interesting, none of this is Bitcoin’s fault. Better security, app vetting, and KYC would help prevent these hacks.
falcon_alphaMember
Posts: 57 · Reputation: 182
#19Jun 25, 2019, 11:03 AM
This post makes me think about how I handle updates on my CEX wallet. Always redirected to weird pages when I try to update. Gotta be careful.
I get update notifications too, but I ignore them most of the time, especially from funded wallets. Better safe than sorry.