Criminal gang behind fake crypto wallets arrested in China

Shanxi police in China have arrested a criminal gang involved in manufacturing and distributing fake cryptocurrency wallets. 

The gang had been distributing fake wallet Android Package kit (APK) installation packages through popular messaging apps.

Gangs lured victims using social media

The gang distributed counterfeit wallet APK installation packages through well-known messaging apps like WeChat and Telegram and bought search engine advertising to mimic the legitimate TokenPocket website. 

Following this, they lied to victims to download fake wallets, after which users lost their crypto assets.

The Shanxi police in China recently arrested a criminal gang that manufactured and distributed fake crypto wallets. They have been distributing fake wallet APK installation packages through Telegram, WeChat and purchased advertising on search website, counterfeiting the…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 2, 2023

Bitrace, a cryptocurrency security firm, assisted the Shanxi police in cracking down on the gang. The police continue their investigations, and the case will go to trial soon.

Similar criminal activities have been reported in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and other areas where several gangs used the same method to imitate popular cryptocurrency wallets like imToken, TokenPocket, MetaMask, and TrustWallet.

How to protect crypto assets

The idea of stealing coins from fake wallets has been highly industrialized. Scammers continuously upgrade their techniques to steal cryptocurrency assets.

Recently, these gangs have used a new multi-signature technique, resulting in an increased number of victims and a corresponding expansion of the scale of the damaged funds.

Bitrace has reminded cryptocurrency users to only download wallets from regular app stores or official websites.

#币追Bitrace 近期协助山西警方成功打击了一个制造并分销假钱包的团伙。该团伙长期以来一直通过Telegram、微信群等方式分发假钱包APK安装包，并在搜索引擎上购买广告服务，仿冒@TokenPocket_TP 官方网站，诱导受害者下载并安装假钱包后盗取加密资产，目前，该案件正在进一步调查和审理中。

— 币追Bitrace (@Bitrace_team) April 2, 2023

Moreover, it is advisable to avoid installing wallet installation packages sent through Telegram or WeChat groups or wallets downloaded from search engines, to prevent the theft of encrypted assets.

The increasing sophistication of these criminal activities highlights the importance of being vigilant while dealing with cryptocurrencies.

It is necessary to be aware of the potential risks and take precautions while conducting transactions or downloading wallets.