Fake Wasabi Wallet app on Apple Store steals 6 BTC from user

A fake Wasabi Wallet application on Apple's App Store has been linked to the theft of roughly 6 BTC from one user, according to crypto security monitor Com Feed. The listing was identified as the 27th crypto wallet clone found on Apple's marketplace so far this year.

Com Feed warned users to verify the Wasabi Wallet application carefully before downloading software presented under the wallet's name. Details about how the victim interacted with the app, including whether a recovery phrase was entered or another method drained the wallet, were not disclosed in the initial report.

The reported Wasabi impersonator adds to a series of fraudulent crypto applications that have passed Apple's App Store review process in 2026. The fake Ledger application remains the largest case among the reported clones, with roughly $9.3 million linked to thefts. Fraudulent wallet apps commonly imitate the branding and interface of established crypto products, making them hard to distinguish from legitimate software by appearance alone.

The reported loss of about 6 BTC places the latest case among the larger individual thefts tied to wallet impersonation apps this year. The exact dollar value depends on Bitcoin's price when the assets were taken; the monitoring report quantified the loss in BTC rather than a confirmed dollar figure. No information identified the developer behind the application or explained how long the listing had been available.

Fake Ledger app previously drained musician's 5.9 BTC

A similar incident in April showed how fraudulent apps obtain control of wallets by convincing users to disclose recovery credentials. On April 20, American musician Garrett Dutton, known as G. Love, said he lost 5.9 BTC worth about $420,000 at the time after downloading software disguised as the Ledger Live manager from Apple's App Store.

Dutton said he installed the malicious program on a new MacBook Neo and entered his seed phrase after the app prompted him to do so. The attacker emptied a Bitcoin stash Dutton said he had accumulated for nearly a decade and intended for retirement. On-chain investigator ZachXBT later tracked the stolen funds to addresses associated with KuCoin through nine transactions.

KuCoin told crypto.news it maintained procedures for monitoring suspicious activity in line with regulatory requirements, disputed any characterization that it allowed illicit activity, and said the matter was under review. The April incident followed a 2023 case where a fake Ledger app on Microsoft's store was linked to nearly $600,000 in losses before Microsoft acknowledged the program had passed its review.

Impersonation has extended beyond app stores

Wallet owners have also faced impersonation through physical mail, with scammers using leaked customer data to send letters carrying forged Ledger and Trezor branding. Some letters instructed recipients to complete a supposed mandatory authentication process before a deadline, with QR codes directing users to malicious websites asking for 12-word or 24-word recovery phrases.

Once entered, the recovery phrases could give attackers control over the corresponding wallets, allowing transfers without further authorization. The FBI has separately documented rising crypto fraud losses in the United States, reaching roughly $11 billion in 2025 compared with about $9 billion a year earlier.

The latest report concerns an impersonation application and does not indicate Wasabi Wallet itself was compromised. The theft is instead tied to software presented to users under the wallet's identity. For users, the pattern across app stores and physical mail shows the need to verify wallet software through official channels before entering recovery credentials, since a single seed phrase disclosure can empty an account regardless of the platform that hosted the fraudulent app.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.