A fake Google Play app steals your Ethereum cryptocurrencies

The fashion for cryptocurrencies is going a long way So much so that just a few days ago we saw that the first floor with bitcoins Now there are many more homeowners who want to get cryptocurrencies. And that in recent weeks its value has dropped significantly.

People are interested in virtual currency. And not just in bitcoins. Also in Ethereum, another currency that is arousing the interest of many users. So the first scammers could not take long to appear And the truth is that they have done so through an official channel: the Google application store.

Criminals are seeing an opportunity in this trend to trick innocent Ethereum owners. They have done so by distributing malicious copies of the MyEtherWallet app through the Google Play Store. The one from Mountain View has been sneaked in again.

There is fake @myetherwallet on Google Play that requires user's private key or mnemonic phrase to log in. BTW there isn't any official MyEtherWallet, yet. pic.twitter.com/6Nn1QFbhEJ

- Lukas Stefanko (@LukasStefanko) January 24, 2018

The app steals your Ethereum cryptocurrencies

The first warning has come from Lukas Stefanko, a malware researcher.He himself has warned users to be very careful with a malicious version of the popular Ethereum wallet The same version that is being distributed through the store official Google applications.

As Stefanko explained, this fraudulent imitation asks users to enter their private key Or the typical reminder phrase, made up of a total of 12 words. What these criminals are trying, logically, is to obtain your keys to get hold of your cryptocurrency wallet. A full-blown phishing scam that can end your adventure with Ethereum.

The application has been downloaded between 100 and 500 times

The application looks very similar to the original. But logically, its true purpose is fraudulent: to steal the data of the users who trust it.There are already many of them who have fallen into the trap and have warned about it in the comments section of the application.

In this one, users state, for example, "This is a phishing application that was not created by the real MyEtherWallet team." Also, users recommend "Don't download the app, it's fake".

Unfortunately, according to Google Play data, this application has been downloaded between 100 and 500 times. Although this is not a cyclopean number, it seems clear that in some cases, scammers may have succeeded.

The app even has points on Google Play

Unfortunately, the application has achieved something curious. And it is accumulating a score of 3.8 stars,that can mislead – and a lot – users. You will recognize that this is a piece of information that you usually pay attention to when downloading an application.

As if that weren't enough, the app has also managed to acquire a total of 30 positive comments. Posted with the same goal of confusing to users who consider downloading the application.

One of the founders of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, warned earlier this week about such scams. Buterin explained that Users had to be very careful about trusting anyone who might send them a request to send funds.

To stay up to date on this type and other scams you can consult the Ethereum Scam Database.