Crypto App Delays Launch to Protect Users from Fake Apple Store Copycats

A crypto data company delayed launching its own app to stop users from being scammed by fake copies.

DefiLlama — a popular website that tracks data across the crypto (digital money) world — recently launched a mobile app. But according to its anonymous founder, known online as 0xngmi, the launch was delayed for months. The reason? Fake apps pretending to be DefiLlama were sitting on Apple's App Store, waiting to trick people.

These fake apps are called phishing apps — software designed to look like a trusted brand but secretly built to steal your money or personal information.

Here's what happened:

• DefiLlama spent months asking Apple to remove one dangerous fake app.
• Apple only took it down within days after DefiLlama's team downloaded the app themselves, tested it, and proved it was draining funds (secretly stealing money) from a small crypto wallet.
• A crypto wallet is like a digital bank account where people store their digital coins.

"We waited 'till all the fake apps were taken down before we launched ours to avoid any user getting scammed," 0xngmi explained.

This isn't a one-time problem. Fake crypto apps have appeared on major app stores before, impersonating well-known brands:

• Fake versions of Rabby wallet and Curve Finance showed up on Apple's App Store in 2024.
• In November 2023, a fake Ledger Live app on the Microsoft Store stole $588,000 across 38 separate transactions.

Why does this matter for beginners? App stores feel safe, so people assume every app there is trustworthy. But scammers can still sneak fake apps through. Always double-check the developer's name, read reviews carefully, and download crypto apps only from official links on the company's real website.

The key takeaway: even trusted platforms like Apple's App Store aren't perfectly safe. DefiLlama's decision to delay its own launch shows how seriously scam risks are taken in the crypto space — and it's a reminder for everyone to stay cautious with their money online.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/defillama-delayed-app-launch-fake-phishing-apps-apple?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound