Approximately $600,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) has been stolen from people who downloaded a fake Ledger Live app from Microsoft’s app store. This scam was discovered by cryptocurrency analyst ZachXBT on November 5.
The fraudulent app, called “Ledger Live Web3,” tricks users into thinking they are getting the genuine “Ledger Live” app, which is used with Ledger hardware wallets for securely storing cryptocurrency offline.
The scammer received around 16.8 BTC, equivalent to $588,000, in 38 separate transactions using the wallet address “bc1q….y64q,” as reported by Blockchain.com. Subsequently, about $115,200 was transferred out of the scammer’s wallet in two transactions, leaving them with $473,800 or 13.5 BTC.
Community Alert: There is currently a fake @Ledger Live app on the official @Microsoft App Store which was resulted in 16.8+ BTC ($588K) stolen
Scammer address
bc1qg05gw43elzqxqnll8vs8x47ukkhudwyncxy64q pic.twitter.com/rOZ0ZWRWbn— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 5, 2023
In a subsequent update, ZachXBT mentioned that Microsoft likely removed the fake Ledger Live app from its platform.
The initial transaction sent to the scammer’s wallet address occurred on October 24 and was valued at $5,210. Before that, the wallet had remained inactive. The majority of these transactions happened after November 2, with the largest transfer being $81,200 on November 4.
The “Ledger Live Web3” app had appeared on Microsoft’s app store as early as October 19.
The fake “Ledger Live Web3” app on Microsoft Apps. Source: Microsoft
On November 4, ZachXBT mentioned that they received messages from two victims who had fallen prey to the scam. ZachXBT also expressed their opinion that Microsoft should be held responsible for allowing the fake Ledger Live app to be available on its app store.
Sadly received two messages about this from victims today. Seems another person lost funds in just past few min. pic.twitter.com/yYPbizltN5
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 5, 2023
This isn’t the first instance of a counterfeit Ledger Live app appearing on Microsoft’s app store. In the past, Ledger’s support account on a social media platform (formerly known as Twitter) alerted users about a fake Ledger Live app on two different occasions, once in December and another time in March.
🚨 Hey #ledger users
Beware of fake Ledger Live apps published on the Microsoft Store👀
The only safe place to download Ledger Live is on our website👇https://t.co/cDLX1rEWPf
Ledger will NEVER ask you for your 24-word recovery phrase ❌
Stay safe 🙏 pic.twitter.com/0dXTJ7FeuO
— Ledger Support (@Ledger_Support) December 26, 2022
Ledger hasn’t provided an official response to the scam. However, in the past, they have emphasized to their users that the “only secure location” to download Ledger Live is from their website, ledger.com.
Important: Please note that this article is only meant to provide information and should not be taken as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other type of advice.
Join Cryptos Headlines Community
Follow Cryptos Headlines on Google News
