Users lose $9.5M to fake Ledger wallet app on the Apple App Store

What happened

It has been reported that a malicious app posing as the Ledger hardware-wallet companion slipped onto Apple’s normally highly curated App Store and that users who downloaded it entered their seed phrases — then watched their wallets drain. Victims allegedly lost about $9.5 million in total. One person who goes by the musician name G. Love wrote, “I lost my retirement fund… All my BTC gone in an instant.” According to him, he lost 5.9 BTC (about $445,000).

Tracing the cash

It has been reported that crypto sleuth zachxbt traced portions of the stolen funds through KuCoin; the post notes that some of the largest victims lost seven figures each. Apple removed the fake Ledger app on April 13 — six days after it first appeared. How did a fake wallet get past review for nearly a week? That question will sting for both users and Apple.

Why it matters

This hit is painfully human: retirement wiped out, life plans tossed. It’s also a reminder that social-engineering and supply-chain-style attacks remain brutally effective against everyday users. The incident comes amid a string of high-dollar crypto thefts and exploits across DeFi, exchanges and ATM operators, underscoring that crypto security still hinges on user vigilance as much as platform safeguards.

Sources: web3isgoinggreat.com, Hacker News