Fake crypto app on the App Store has stolen thousands of dollars already [u]

By William Gallagher

An app purporting to be for the Rabby Wallet crypto service, is the latest failure for Apple's App Store review team.

The App Store is meant to be safe from scam apps

Apple's Phil Schiller has correctly said that the EU's requirement for alternative app stores weakens the iPhone's security, but that vaunted security has yet again proven to be vulnerable. Following the recent discovery of a movie piracy app and one impersonating the password manager LastPass on the App Store, now a fake blockchain app has been taking users' money.

The fake app is called Rabby Wallet & Crypto Solution, and it's purporting to be the official Rabby Wallet app. The fake has no competition, either, as while the scammers' app has been approved by the App Store, the real one has not.

That real app is still going through the App Store review process, according to its developer, DeBank Global Pte. Ltd., which has been warning customers about the fake. The blockchain service can alternatively be used via a Mac app, or a Chrome extension.

"I was also scammed for about 5k usd from this fraudulent app this morning," wrote one user on Apple's support pages who claims that the fake app has been available for years. "I have raised a support case with apple to see if there's any means of reimbursement as the app has been reported multiple times prior and is still standing 4 years now."

"Less than 1 day of trying to use this wallet and I manage to lose majority of my holdings," wrote another in Rabby Wallet's Discord channel. "Did I deserve it for not doing my due diligence, sure. Am I going to complain to the heavens to apple support to try get reimbursement, sure."

Apple has now told AppleInsider that it has removed the fake app.

That pirate movie app lasted for months before Apple finally removed it. And it's not only the iOS App Store that has similar problems -- Apple has regularly been very slow to remove fakes from the Mac App Store, too.

Updated: 3 A.M ET on February 20, 2024 with the detail that Apple has removed the app.