BCGAME - Free 5BTC Daily Bonus!Eight cryptocurrency cloud mining apps that purported to offer cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) to users in exchange for investing in cloud mining operations were recently discovered to be fake, tricking users into watching ads and pay for subscription services, according to a recent report by American-Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.
The malicious apps discovered “trick victims into watching ads, paying for subscription services that have an average monthly fee of $15, and paying for increased mining capabilities without getting anything in return,” the company said.
The team said it reported its findings to Google Play and that "the apps were immediately removed from the Play Store."
The eight Android apps exposed include:
- BitFunds - Crypto Cloud Mining
- Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining
- Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet
- Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining
- Bitcoin Daily Rewards – Cloud-based mining system
- Bitcoin 2021
- MineBit Pro – Crypto Cloud Mining and btc miner
- Ethereum (ETH) – Pool Mining Cloud
An analysis of the fake crypto mining applications has shown that they do not show any real crypto mining behavior. Fake mining activity in the applications' user interface (UI) is accomplished through a local mining simulation module that comprises a counter and some random functions, Trend Micro said.
The company's analysis shows that more than 120 fake cryptocurrency mining applications continue to deceive victims.
“These apps, which lack cryptocurrency mining capabilities and trick users into watching ads in the app, affected more than 4.500 users globally from July 2020 to July 2021,” according to the company.
Two of the apps exposed are paid: Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining costs $12,99, while Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System costs $5,99, according to Trend Micro.
However, free and paid fake mining apps incur significantly higher costs for their victims.
“Although these apps are not associated with cloud mining operations or have any cryptocurrency mining capabilities, some of these apps require users to pay for increased cryptocurrency mining resources through in-app billing systems for varying apps from $14,99 to $high as $189,99,” says the report.
