Fake Phantom wallet breaches Apple’s app store, draining crypto assets

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As a researcher with experience in cybersecurity and blockchain technology, I find the report of a fake Phantom wallet on Apple’s app store draining user funds a concerning development. The close resemblance of this bogus app to the original Phantom wallet published by Phantom Technologies Incorporated is alarming, especially since it is categorized as an educational app instead of a utility.

As a security analyst, I’ve come across reports of a supposedly fraudulent Phantom wallet application on Apple’s App Store. It appears that users who regain access to their accounts by utilizing their private keys are experiencing unauthorized draining of their funds.

As an analyst, I’ve noticed that the app in question bears a striking resemblance to the authentic Phantom wallet developed by Phantom Technologies Incorporated. Surprisingly enough, when I conduct a search for the genuine Phantom wallet, this app appears as an advertisement, even preceding the original application.

As a researcher, I’ve come across an interesting observation during my investigation. The authentic application has been classified under the utility category, while the counterfeit one is labeled as an educational app from Meta Voxify. Surprisingly, only the fraudulent app appears in Meta Voxify’s listings.

As a researcher, I stumbled upon an intriguing discovery regarding an app called Voxify AI. According to its description, it appears to be a text-to-speech conversion tool. However, when I searched for this app on the app store, I was inadvertently led to a fake Phantom wallet application instead.

As a crypto investor, I’ve come across an app with numerous one-star ratings in the review section. Some users have shared concerning experiences where they lost funds while attempting to load their digital wallets into what appears to be a fraudulent application.

When the app was released, it was no longer available for download from the app store. However, a search for “Meta Voxify” or “Voxify ai” on the platform returned results with the app still present.

This isn’t the first instance of malicious applications infiltrating Apple’s store. 

As a researcher investigating cybercrimes, I came across an intriguing case last year. Malicious actors had created a counterfeit version of Rabbit Wallet, which deceitfully appeared as the top search result when querying “Rabby Wallet.” This clone wallet was designed to trick unsuspecting users into transferring their cryptocurrencies to the wrong address.

As a financial analyst, I’d put it this way: At that point in time, the wallet software could only be accessed through a desktop application or a Google Chrome extension by itself.

Over the last few years, scammers have been on the rise, focusing their attacks on smartphone users. A recent study conducted by cybersecurity company Sophos in 2023 uncovered a new trend among these fraudsters: pig butchering scammers are finding ways to bypass Google and Apple’s app store safeguards in order to distribute harmful software.

Scammers exploited Apple-issued legitimate certificates to gain approval for their app. Later, they linked this app to malevolent servers under their command for the purpose of deceiving unsuspecting victims.

Whether or not bad actors used a similar tactic in this case remains unclear.

In the midst of it all, Mende Matthias, a co-founder of the Dubai blockchain center, allegedly suffered a significant loss of approximately $100,000 from his Phantom digital wallet. He has emphasized that even with multiple security precautions in place, his funds were moved to a different wallet address.

Additionally, he asserted that he hadn’t engaged with any harmful links or online platforms. He hypothesized that his public disclosure of his investment amount might have made him a target.

Matthias has assured us that his funds were not stolen through the deceitful Phantom wallet scam. Yet, he’s kept quiet about how the criminals managed to compromise his digital wallet.

The team at Phantom is yet to respond to the issue.

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2024-06-28 14:46