Hackers steal $8 million in cryptocurrency with fake wallet app

Hackers stole more than $8 million in cryptocurrencies from users of the BitKeep multi-chain wallet, who allegedly downloaded a hacked version of the app provided by cybercriminals, which facilitated the theft of cryptocurrencies.

Monday, December 26, BitKeep reported on his official Telegram channel that “it is suspected that some Android application package downloads (APKs)” of the wallet were made by another person. “hijacked by hackers and installed with hacked codes.” On mobile devices.

He then warned of possible theft as a result, clarifying that “the application you download or update may be an unknown version that has been hijacked” by cybercriminals..

Just two hours later, security and tracking service PeckShield. reported the massive theft of this portfolio. On Twitter, the company reported that hackers had in fact had stolen the funds of several users.

According to PeckShield, the following data have been stolen so far. $8 million in cryptoassets. More precisely 4,373 BNB (Binance cryptocurrency), 5.4 million USD Tether (USDT), 196,000 DAI (DAI) and 1,233.21 ethers (ETH).

BitKeep later clarified that the reported theft was due to. to the “hijacking of APK version 7.2.9.”which “most likely is not the official version” of the wallet application.

For this reason, he asked users using that version to transfer funds to the BitKeep Chrome browser wallet or the app downloaded from the official store “as soon as possible,” in addition to creating a new address.

Navigate to the section Telegram Group Of BitKeep, it is possible to note that. hundreds of people are affected by this theft. Many of them record total losses of their funds, which were held in cryptocurrency wallets. BitKeep did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CryptoNews.

On the Play Store, Google’s official app store, there are also. complaints Of thefts on BitKeep. They are reviews going back several months. In August, for example, one user reported that USDT 300 had been stolen from him. In November, others reported being robbed on BitKeep.

“All funds will be refunded.”

In another message, the company indicated that “All lost assets will be refunded.” and that they are currently “monitoring all blockchain contracts” that have been breached. They did not clarify when the assets will be returned, but asked for “some time” to recover the stolen funds.

It should be noted that this wallet does not have the ability to recover funds stolen by hackers. Due to its self-custody feature, the developers do not have access to users’ private keys.much less those of hackers.

In any case, BitKeep said it “sincerely apologizes” for the incident that led to the theft of these cryptocurrencies y asked affected people to fill out a questionnaire with information relevant to the case.

Among the data required is the address of the stolen wallet and the address of the hacker. They also ask to identify the stolen token and the total number of tokens. They also ask for the model of the user’s mobile device, the version of the wallet application, and finally, they ask for the model of the user’s mobile device and the version of the wallet application, To find out the download channel of the wallet.

This last point is relevant, taking into account that, according to the portfolio, the theft occurred downloading a pirated APK version. And under the control of cybercriminals.

Therefore, in the midst of the data request, the wallet reminds users that for the safety of their assets, they should make sure to use the official Apple and Google stores “to download and use the BitKeep wallet,” as “there is no problem” with apps downloaded from those sources.

BitKeep is a multi-chain wallet with a strong presence in Asia, enabling cryptoassets on more than 80 blockchain networks, such as Bitcoin, BNB, Ethereum, Polygon, and Tron. This wallet also supports non-fungible tokens (NFT) and is available in more than 168 countries. According to its accounts, hosts more than 8 million users worldwide..

BitKeep Has been in the news in January of this year, when it was reported that it launched its Launchpad in partnership with Bitget, a spot, futures and copy trading exchange, as reported by CryptoNews.