0
I was just looking for an Ethereum wallet app for Android, and something hit me.
Could someone create a wallet app for Android/iOS that simply pretends to create a wallet address but really just displays the address of the one who created the app, causing the victim to transfer his/her funds straight to the app creator instead of their (supposedly) newly created wallet?
This seems too easy...
2
Yes, of course this would work.
What do you expect? It's the digital equivalent of walking into a random building with a storefront that vaguely looks like a bank with lots of dollar signs, and then asking "hey i want a bank account, where do I send money?".
Don't install random wallet software. Do research.
0
It sounds strange, but something like this happens a lot.
Scammers try everything. They write apps as you described. I have already seen one of them (not in any app store but offered for free on a website). You only need to know Java basics and could program a fake application and some people would fall for it.
They do also write "It's hardfork!! Give us your private key to save your bitcoins during the fork"-websites...
Has this happened (yet)?? Seems like a scam just waiting to happen. I think a lot of people who just got into crypto currencies are uneducated and lazy. If they were looking for a bank they'd just go with the one that their parents or friends have always used, but with apps there are a gazillion and none of them have well known names like "Bank of America" or "Citigroup", so I guess a large portion of people just pick one that sounds (and looks) good and "try it"... – Magnus W – 2017-12-16T21:22:04.063
Yes, there are plenty of cases of scam wallets. – Pieter Wuille – 2017-12-16T21:31:05.607