In our rapidly evolving digital age, we often place unwavering trust in the internet, sometimes without considering what we might be sacrificing in return. This is where mobile applications come into play.
Our smartphones are brimming with them, with nearly two million available on Apple’s App Store and almost three million on Google’s Play Store, all readily accessible at our fingertips.
It’s estimated that the average person has around 100 apps downloaded on their device. These range from popular social media platforms like X/Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, to news apps such as The Mirror US’ own app, dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, games like Clash of Clans, and countless others.
Major mobile and security companies strongly advise downloading applications only from official stores. However, even this precaution doesn’t guarantee complete safety, as researchers at Cyble have found.
Cyble’s team uncovered a series of apps that had managed to infiltrate the Play Store by imitating the names or icons of legitimate digital wallets. Once these deceptive apps are installed on your mobile device, they launch a phishing website or an in-app WebView, requesting mnemonic phrases that can be used to drain your wallet entirely, reports the Mirror US.
The researchers identified over 20 different apps targeting crypto wallet users, masquerading as well-known wallets such as SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, Hyperliquid, and Raydium.
Nine fake cryptocurrency wallet apps have been identified, raising concerns the list may expand, thus affecting an even larger number of individuals.
These are the apps:
- Pancake Swap
- Suiet Wallet
- Hyperliquid
- Raydium
- BullX Crypto
- OpenOcean Exchange
- Meteora Exchange
- SushiSwap
- Harvest Finance Blog
According to The Mirror US, the following apps should be deleted immediately if installed on your smartphone. Additionally, it’s vital to ensure Google’s Play Protect is enabled on your device.
Cyble says: “[These apps] employ phishing techniques to steal users’ mnemonic phrases, which are then used to access real wallets and drain cryptocurrency funds.
“They have been progressively discovered over recent weeks, reflecting an ongoing and active campaign.”
All the discovered apps have been reported directly to Google, which is in the process of removing them from the PlayStore.
Google has been contacted for an official statement, and a response is pending.