How a Malicious Google Play Store App Stole $70,000

The Google Play Store is one of the safest ways to download apps, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune to attack. Every once in a while, a big scam slips through and makes the malware developers a pretty penny. Right now, one app has managed to sneak past Google’s defenses and siphon off $70,000 from victims.

A Malicious App on the Google Play Store Steals Thousands of Dollars from Users

According to a report by Check Point Research, the Google Play Store saw a devastating attack after bad actors uploaded a fake WalletConnect app. WalletConnect is a protocol used by cryptocurrency holders to help connect their wallets to decentralized applications on Web3. While various technologies use WalletConnect to make transactions, the service itself does not have an official app.

Bad guys know this and have created a fake WalletConnect app that claims to solve many of the problems with the protocol. They then inflate the app’s reputation with fake positive reviews to create a sense of security. Even though the reviews appear to be referring to a completely different app, it’s enough to push the rating high enough to make the app seem trustworthy.

Check Point Research reports that around 10,000 people downloaded the fake app, but only 150 attached it to their cryptocurrency wallets. However, that was enough for the malicious developers to withdraw $70,000 from the compromised wallets before the app was shut down.

How to stay safe from malicious apps on the Google Play Store

In this case, the attack only affected people with cryptocurrency wallets. However, malicious apps on the Google Play Store target people from all walks of life; even if you have never owned any cryptocurrency, it is worth taking the time to understand how secure the Google Play Store really is.

There are plenty of ways to avoid dangerous apps on Android, but this particular app used some nasty tricks to fool people. People couldn’t use the recent release date to identify the fake app, since it was a brand new app that WalletConnect had released. On top of that, a slew of fake positive reviews pushed up the app’s rating, even though the actual content was completely meaningless.

In these cases, if you see an app that appears to be official, has been recently released, has a low download count, and has reviews that seem trustworthy enough, check with the company itself. Check the company’s website and social media for any announcements about the app, and if you can’t find any, message them asking about the new app. If it’s a fake app, the company may do everything it can to warn users and take it down.