@Kristofferquincy
Google's inferno: Removal of fake cryptocurrency apps
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple have gained popularity over the years especially with the rapid rise in Bitcoin's value in the last five years, raising everyone's interest in this "digital cake". These cryptocurrencies can be bought, mined, or earned by performing simple tasks through paid to click (PTC) sites, faucets, "watch ads-to-earn" apps and many more. Not all of these platforms fulfill their promises, but scam their users of their hard earned money by convincing them to pay a certain fee for high profitability. **Google's inferno**
Google recently removed eight (8) cryptocurrency apps from its play store after the Japanese security firm- Trend micro prompted Google on its discovery of the malicious activities of apps that scams people of their money by promising that users can earn Cryptocurrencies by mining on their devices, and luring them into paying for an increase in mining power at a certain fee but with no return. These apps trick users into watching ads, and subscribing at an average of 15 USD monthly. Below is the list of apps removed from the play store: Crypto Holic- Bitcoin cloud mining Bitcoin 2021 BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining Ethereum (ETH) - Pool Mining Cloud Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet MineBit Pro - Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System It was discovered that these apps have no Mining capability but are designed to imitate mining behaviors using mining simulation systems. They also come with a billing system such that users have to pay subscription fees ranging from 15 USD to 100 USD and above. Trend micro discovered that two of the above named apps requires payments before they can be downloaded, Crypto Holic – Bitcoin cloud mining requires users to pay $12.99 to purchase the app while users needed to pay $5.99 to download the Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud based mining app. Apart from purchasing the apps, users were also tricked into paying extra in order to upgrade their mining capacity by buying “mining machines”. They also mentioned that there are over 120 similar cryptocurrency scam apps on the Google play store. It was discovered that it was clearly stated in the Mine Bit Pro app that it is only “an educational simulation game designed to teach people about crypto money ecosystem”, which means that whatever money is paid by users on the app is just for fun, and no legal action can be taken against the app developers for the fraudulent actions since it has already been mentioned in the apps terms of use. If you have any of these apps on your android phone they should be uninstalled immediately unless you intend to lose more money than you already have. **How to identify fake crypto mining apps according to Trend micro** Users should note that most of the 5-star reviews on the play store are fake and should take note of the 1-star reviews before purchasing any such apps as the manufacturers can create fake reviews to attract potential victims. If an app accepts a wrong cryptocurrency address and proceeds with its normal operation without issues then it is definitely a scam because it has no intention of making payment to the inputted address. Restarting your device during the mining process will force the logs to be reset to zero in a fake mining app, this way a scam miner app can be detected. The withdrawal of the mined funds always require a fee, this fee is always higher compared to what is made from the mining process. If the withdrawal process is completely free of charge then it should be considered suspicious and is definitely a scam. **Conclusion** There are over 120 fraudulent cryptocurrency apps on the internet which will attempt to rob you of your money by masquerading as mining apps and “watch ads to earn” platforms. These apps are highly malicious and will steal your data if installed on your device. Do your personal research before downloading any of such apps in order not to fall victim of these frauds.
20 comments
thanks for this... we should really be careful about trusting crypto apps or else instead of gaining we will only lose realy money
That's right, and that's the namot reason for the removal of those apps. We really should ne careful so we wouldn't lose money unnecessarily.
Very good reminder. I don't install just any apps on my phone, I am a very cautious person haha.
That's good. Too many scams out there.
Yes, and they pop up almost every minute so we should really be careful
I am installing crypto apps before then I stopped months ago because I realized it might lose my money. We should really be more careful.
Really, we should. Most of these apps don't intend to pay their users but scam them instead.
Yes, I've seen a lot of people being scammed.
This is helpful. I haven't ventured in apps like that yet but to those who plan on doing so should really be careful and research properly. One thing that we should be really careful about are the fees. I don't trust those who ask for fees.
Exactly. Those apps you have to pay for before downloading are mostly scams. I'd never fall for those.
Scammers are getting wiser these days so we really have to be vigilant.
Nice write up. When i got dope months back ,it wasn't even on a app but Telegram 😂 this people know how to prey on the innocent. Moreover, why download miners on phone?. One only mine in bit and the withdrawal limit is always high.
Those telegram scammers where they'd ask you to pay a certain fee first before they send your money right? I've always been smart, never fell for them.
I was listening these name for the first time and as crypto is becoming huge more scammers,hackers, or fake apps are coming ahead to make it worst.
Yeah, the problems is more people are interested in maning fast money they they end up getting scammed easily.
Haha yes they think they are smart.
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Thank you for this, I used to install crypto apps before but I already un-installed them because it looks fake..we really need to research before investing to avoid losing of money..
That's right, we should be careful before installing apps on our device.
There should be thorough checking of those apps before they are allowed on play store too. Thanks for the exposure