<p>Yes, of course this would work.</p>

<p>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?".</p>

<p>Don't install random wallet software. Do research.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-16T21:22:04.063Z
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
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-16T21:31:05.607Z
Yes, there are plenty of cases of scam wallets.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-16T21:10:52.420Z
2017-12-16T21:10:52.420Z
Pieter Wuille
<p>It sounds strange, but something like this happens a lot.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>They do also write "It's hardfork!! Give us your private key to save your bitcoins during the fork"-websites...</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-16T21:31:45.393Z
2017-12-16T21:31:45.393Z
hardfork
<p>I was just looking for an Ethereum wallet app for Android, and something hit me. </p>

<p>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?</p>

<p>This seems too easy...</p>

<wallet>
Would it really be this easy to steal peoples bitcoins?
Magnus
# Would it really be this easy to steal peoples bitcoins?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-16)

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...

**Tags:** wallet


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-12-16. Score: 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.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 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"...  
> **username_1**: Yes, there are plenty of cases of scam wallets.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-16. Score: 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 username_2!! Give us your private key to save your bitcoins during the fork"-websites...


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