Google Removes 8 Fake Crypto Mining Apps, Users Warned to Remove Immediately

As cryptocurrencies become more popular and public interest increases, hackers, scammers and other malicious actors are taking advantage of newcomers by tricking them with fake crypto applications on Google Play Store.

Victims Tricked into Paying for Fake Subscription Service 

Google recently took down at least eight such fraudulent applications that were promoted as cryptocurrency cloud mining apps for Android devices, as detected by security firm Trend Micro. The firm said these applications tricked victims into watching ads and paying for subscription services that could amount to a monthly fee of 12 to 15 USD, without returning any kind of profit to users.

The fraudulent applications were: 

• BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining
• Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining
• Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet
• Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining
• Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System
• Bitcoin 2021
• MineBit Pro – Crypto Cloud Mining & BTC Miner
• Ethereum (ETH) – Pool Mining Cloud

This is the second time Google has rushed to remove fake cryptocurrency apps. In November last year, a member of the Aussie Nugget’s News community reportedly lost A$20k to a fake Uniswap application hosted on Google Play Store.

Beware of Fake Crypto Apps and Sites

All of us should be wary of where to put our capital with so many threats hanging around, especially Australians, since some fake crypto exchanges are reaching out to Aussie citizens via Gmail, Telegram and other channels to lure them into downloading fake apps or depositing money into a fake exchange.

Another method hackers are using to deceive customers is fake hardware wallets. As we reported a month ago, fraudsters have been sending fake hardware wallets to Ledger customers to gain access to their addresses, following an internal security breach about a year ago.

Some other users have reported receiving fake hardware wallets with a pre-installed recovery phrase:

Avoid Getting Scammed

With so many threats going around the DeFi and crypto community, it’s always best to DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and seek advice from experienced members in the community. At Crypto News Australia we have outlined some of the most common scams and also the best practices to help avoid them.