Your smartphone may be under threat—these are the apps you need to remove right now for safety

There’s a new warning about dangerous apps on smartphones, especially for people using crypto wallets. These apps look like real crypto wallet apps but are actually fake. They are made to steal your wallet info, as per report.

How to detect a fake 'wallet'

They got into the Google Play Store by pretending to be real apps and copying logos/names of trusted ones. Once you install these apps, they open a phishing website or a fake screen and ask for your mnemonic phrase, according to the report by Forbes.

A mnemonic phrase is like a secret code, anyone with it can steal all your crypto. Over 20 fake apps have been found already and more are being added because the malware campaign is still active. These apps target 9 popular wallets.

Be careful of these app names: Pancake Swap, Suiet Wallet, Hyperliquid, Raydium, BullX Crypto, OpenOcean Exchange, Meteora Exchange, SushiSwap, and Harvest Finance Blog, as said in the Cyble report.

The apps seem like they’re from different developers but they share similar tricks like, same style of app descriptions, similar package names, and hiding Command and Control links in their privacy policies. These developers had normal apps before, but their accounts got hacked and misused, as mentioned in the report by Forbes.

How is Google Play protecting against fake wallets

These apps are being found one by one and reported to Google. Many have already been removed from the Play Store. Google responded, saying all reported apps have now been removed from Play Store, as per the report by Cyble.

Google Play Protect will warn or block these apps on devices with Google Play Services. You should delete any of these apps right now if they’re on your phone. Also, make sure Play Protect is on.

Security expert Jake Moore from ESET warns to delete any crypto app that isn’t verified. Always check who made the app, read reviews, and see how many people downloaded it before installing. He said it's even more serious when bad apps get into the Play Store, which is supposed to be safe. You must be extra careful when installing any app, especially ones linked to your money or crypto, as per Forbes report.

These bad apps used a huge phishing network with 50+ fake websites, making them hard to detect quickly. Moore also said that hackers are getting smarter, and many users don’t double-check before installing. There is no refund or help if your crypto is stolen. It’s gone forever.

So only download wallet apps from the official website of the crypto company, not just the app store. If you have any of the apps listed, delete them immediately. Always be super careful with anything involving your money or personal data, as per reports.

FAQs

Q1. What do the fake apps take from crypto users?
They steal your wallet’s secret code to take your money.

Q2. Are these fake apps available on the Google Play Store?
Yes, some of them got into the Play Store by pretending to be real wallet apps.