Fake MyEtherWallet app trends #3 on App Store before Apple takes it down

Apple has not disclosed how many customers had purchased the fake MyEtherWallet app.

Apple removes app after MyEtherWallet complaint (AFP)

Apple on Monday removed an application from its App Store after MyEtherWallet.com, a free service for storing digital currencies, complained that the app was improperly using its name.

The unofficial version of the MyEtherWallet app had become third most popular app in the paid finance category of App Store over the weekend. Developer of the fake app, Nam Le, appeared to have no past record of building a bitcoin application. Other applications developed by him included a panda warrior game and a fishing game, reported TheVerge.

Interestingly, the week-old app claimed that users' "keys are encrypted and stored securely inside your phone and cannot be accessed in any case. Sending transaction will always require unlock. This will put your wallets at maximum protection."

"This is NOT US," MyEtherWallet said on Sunday from its official Twitter account.

This is NOT US. We have file reports and emailed and reported. Would appreciate the communities assistance in getting these scamtards out of our lives.

PS: We are #Foss4Lyfe https://t.co/SmI8cqNvxA

— MyEtherWallet.com (@myetherwallet) December 10, 2017

The statement was a response to a tweet by someone identified as @ChrisLundkvist, who posted an image of the $4.99 app, dubbed MyEtherWallet, showing it was the third-most popular finance app in Apple's App Store.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said in an email that the MyEtherWallet app had been removed from the App store. He declined to say how many customers had purchased the app or if Apple would provide refunds.

Interest in cryptocurrencies has climbed in recent weeks as the bitcoin has repeatedly hit new highs, bringing its year-to-date return to 1,600 percent. The currency's surge has also generated the interest of scammers, who last week stole more than $60 million worth of bitcoin from the Slovenia-based cryptocurrency mining marketplace NiceHash.

MyEtherWallet spokesman Jordan Spence said the developer had not detected signs that the iOS app was used to steal from people who had downloaded it, but that the team was still investigating to verify that.