Fake wallet and trading apps
Look-alike apps on app stores or download sites that steal your seed phrase or show a fake balance while keeping your deposits.
How it works
Fake wallet apps copy a real brand, buy ads and sometimes slip through app-store review. Restoring your wallet in them sends your seed phrase to the attacker.
Fake trading platforms show growing balances to encourage bigger deposits, then block withdrawals. These are often pushed through dating or 'investment group' contacts.
Desktop 'trading tools' and 'AI bots' are also used to deliver key-stealing malware.
Red flags
- An app found through an ad, a DM or a link rather than the wallet's official site
- A new publisher, few reviews, or a slightly wrong name
- Withdrawals that need an extra 'fee' or 'tax'
Protect yourself
- Download wallets only from the link on the wallet's official website
- Be suspicious of anyone who introduces you to a trading app
- Never type your seed phrase into a new app to 'check your balance'
If you already signed
- Move funds to a new wallet with a fresh seed phrase on a clean device
- Report the app to the store and to the real brand
Incidents using it 4
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High◐Partly contained
Kaspersky finds 26 'FakeWallet' apps on Apple's App Store stealing wallet recovery phrases
Kaspersky found 26 decoy apps on Apple's App Store (games, calculators, to-do lists) that opened a fake App Store page and pushed users to sideload trojanized versions of MetaMask, Ledger, Trust Wallet, Coinbase, TokenPocket, imToken and Bitpie. The trojanized hot wallets captured recovery phrases during wallet creation or restore, and the Ledger lure asked for the phrase directly. The campaign ran since at least fall 2025, mostly against users in China, and is attributed with moderate confidence to the SparkKitty actors; Kaspersky reported all apps to Apple. No loss total was published.
iPhone users who installed fake MetaMask, Ledger, Trust Wallet, Coinbase, TokenPocket, imToken or Bitpie apps·Multiple EVM chains, Bitcoin, Tron·Since Apr 20, 2026·
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High✕Still active
notnullOSX Mac stealer swaps Ledger Live and Trezor apps for trojanized copies
Moonlock found notnullOSX, a macOS stealer spread through Google Ads, promoted YouTube videos and fake wallpaper sites using ClickFix-style 'paste this in Terminal' instructions. Its ReplaceApp module replaces the user's Ledger Live or Trezor app with a trojanized copy to catch the recovery phrase, and it also copies desktop and browser-extension wallet data. Operators reportedly target people holding more than $10,000 in crypto. No loss total was published.
Mac users with Ledger Live, Trezor Suite or desktop/extension wallets·Bitcoin, Multiple EVM chains·Since Apr 10, 2026·
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Critical◐Partly contained
Fake Ledger Live app on Apple's Mac App Store stole about $9.5M in seed-phrase thefts
A fake Ledger Live app for macOS, published on Apple's App Store under the name 'Leva Heal Limited', asked users for their recovery phrase and drained about $9.5M from roughly 50 victims between 8 and 11 April 2026. Apple removed the app and terminated the developer account; KuCoin froze accounts used to launder part of the funds. Ledger's desktop app is only distributed from Ledger's own website, and no Ledger software ever asks for your recovery phrase.
Ledger users who installed 'Ledger Live' from the Mac App Store·Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Solana·$9.5M stolen·Since Apr 8, 2026·
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High✕Still active
Hijacked Snap Store publisher accounts push fake Exodus, Ledger Live and Trust Wallet apps
SlowMist reported that attackers re-registered expired domains belonging to established Linux Snap Store publishers, reset the publisher accounts, and pushed updates that turned trusted apps into fake Exodus, Ledger Live and Trust Wallet clients. The fake apps ask for the wallet recovery phrase and send it to the attackers. Linux users who installed wallet apps from the Snap Store should check the publisher and never type a recovery phrase into a desktop app. No loss total was published.
Linux users installing wallet apps from the Snap Store·Bitcoin, Multiple EVM chains·Since Jan 21, 2026·