Actually, this happened via a scam cryptocurrency app that appeared in Apple’s app distribution service, Apple App Store. Reportedly, the app has been removed several times from the App Store.
The cryptocurrency enthusiast and holder who faced this scam named Phillipe Christodoulou was a bitcoin holder. He went on the App Store on his iPhone and searched for a mobile Trezor app to track his Bitcoin balance through the iPhone he owned.
But the thing is, Trezor is a hardware wallet and they never released an iOS-based or Android-based mobile application to track wallet information. Sadly, Phillipe doesn’t know this. He downloaded a doppelgänger Trezor application. He didn’t just download it, he looked for ratings and founded the app has been rated nearly 5 stars on App Store. Rating = Trustworthiness in these kinds of platforms.
After he became satisfied to download the app, downloaded it and entered the seed phrase he owned before. And then he recognized his savings of 17.1BTC were missing.
However, according to Washington Post, Phillipe filled a report with the FBI. And blamed Apple while mentioning the company collects 15% to 30% commissions on sales.
“They betrayed the trust that I had in them. Apple doesn’t deserve to get away with this,”
Well, what to take off from this scene? Do not put your money in scam applications. This is just one scam report. There are many more cryptocurrency-based scams. The best way to avoid them is by self-learning. There are a ton of trusted wallets and exchanges out there.
