8 Crypto Mining Apps Exposed as Fakes - And 120 More are Still in Business

Eight cryptocurrency cloud mining apps that pretended to offer crypto such as bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) to users in return for investments into cloud-mining operations were recently found to be fakes, tricking users into watching ads and paying for subscription services, according to a recent report by US-Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

The discovered malicious apps “trick victims into watching ads, paying for subscription services that have an average monthly fee of USD 15, and paying for increased mining capabilities without getting anything in return,” the company said.

The team said they had reported their findings to Google Play, and that “the apps have been promptly removed from the Play Store.”

The eight exposed Android apps include:

• BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining

• Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining

• Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet

• Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining

• Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System

• Bitcoin 2021

• MineBit Pro - Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner

• Ethereum (ETH) - Pool Mining Cloud

An analysis of the fake crypto mining apps demonstrated that they do not show any actual crypto mining behavior. Their fake mining activity on the apps user interface (UI) is performed through a local mining simulation module which comprises a counter and some random functions, Trend Micro said.