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Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#61

Post by hellotomyrars »

habeanf wrote: post #44
fingerlocks wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

How am I supposed to prove I didn't seek the app out? What level of proof do you expect? Do you expect me to create a brand new apple account, replace the one in my phone (which might require wiping it?), and then search again, just to satisfy your default assumption that my claim is false? When I first installed the app it was the first search result. I can't go back in time and prove it because I'm not paranoid and…

I also can't replicate your results but GP is pretty aggressive in a way I don't feel is necessary. Sorry you got scammed out of your crypto, hope it wasn't too bad. I do agree with the sentiment that you should be incredibly vigilant and verify anything you're going to put your money inside of, Bitcoin or otherwise though. But people in positions and wallets that are far bigger than you (presumably) have done worse so don't feel too bad (Ripple CEO losing $112 million worth of XRP, for example).

Edit: Unless that app had a ton of reviews removed recently, I recommend in the future looking at that number. It is crazy that they've gamed it up to #97 in the finance charts according to the app store listing for sure, though the Play store is not immune to this manipulation.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#62

Post by fingerlocks »

habeanf wrote: post #55
fingerlocks wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You corroborate with others independently before posting.

If only there was a website I could use to contact other like minded people where they could vote on posts they like and discuss them in comment sections. Oh, wait

The problem is that you’re framing this as some kind of technical issue that no one else has reproduced. Did you follow any kind of common sense due diligence? How is this any different from blaming Google/Gmail because you fell victim to a phishing/scam email?

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#63

Post by OJFord »

jsheard wrote: post #59
OJFord wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my broker? CFD gambling app I don't think 'gambling app' is a fair description given it's a regulated security, any broker that truly offers CFD trading is (1) going to be legit; (2) going to be competing with the broker you were searching for for result space. Of course to serve its users any app store should massively prioritise the word/brand (incl. typos) you actually search for though.

Casino gambling is also regulated, there being some degree of oversight doesn't make it not gambling.

Sure. This is a financial instrument used by industry professionals though, not just an 'app'.

You can (and some people do) call buying shares 'gambling' too, at some point it just comes down to what our definitions are and it's not very interesting.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#64

Post by kgdiem »

justinclift wrote: post #57

At this point, I'm about 80% sure that a lot of these scam apps are being approved by corrupted Apple review staff. So many of them are blatantly scams that it's not credibly "human error".

Any idea where they’re based? Are they global? They do my reviews at weird times.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#66

Post by habeanf »

fingerlocks wrote: post #62
habeanf wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only there was a website I could use to contact other like minded people where they could vote on posts they like and discuss them in comment sections. Oh, wait

The problem is that you’re framing this as some kind of technical issue that no one else has reproduced. Did you follow any kind of common sense due diligence? How is this any different from blaming Google/Gmail because you fell victim to a phishing/scam email?

Others have reproduced it, see others comments. Perhaps for them the ranking changed slightly but the fact is a scam app is ranked as high as serious companies.

Gmail / Google are open, the App Store is closed and supposedly vetted and guarded. Apple sells to its customers security, quality, and trust. It’s one of the reasons one pays 2x for an iPhone. All of these promises of a better ecosystem have been broken through this experience.

One of the supposed advantages of the closed App Store is to absolve (to some extent) the user of having to do said due diligence.

Also, it’s not like it’s impossible. Google are doing it well - show me a scam app that’s in the top 10 of the play store for bitcoin, banking, finance etc. Hardly any to be found.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#67

Post by concinds »

Animats wrote: post #39

Apple statement on why the EU requiring open app stores is bad: Schiller, an Apple veteran who once ran its marketing machine, said the moves to break the company’s closed ecosystem for software will undermine the privacy and security the company has worked to build into its products and services. “This isn’t our first choice,” he said. “We always want to have the highest standard everywhere in the world but we also…

The company that claims to have "the highest standard everywhere in the world" for security and privacy, happens to run a major desktop platform (macOS) with only a primitive basic signature-based antivirus built-in. Instead they rely on Gatekeeper/notarization for the bulk of the protection, which is a pain for devs (when it doesn't work right) and less effective.

Same is now happening with iOS sideloading, instead of robust antimalware based on heuristics and app behavior (like Google Play Protect), they'll keep relying on blunt instruments like notarization. Doubt it'll keep users safer. Maybe it's NIH syndrome?

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#68

Post by phatfish »

kgdiem wrote: post #64
justinclift wrote: post #57

At this point, I'm about 80% sure that a lot of these scam apps are being approved by corrupted Apple review staff. So many of them are blatantly scams that it's not credibly "human error".

Any idea where they’re based? Are they global? They do my reviews at weird times.

It's just security theatre. App could pay enough to get competent people to grind out a few months of mind numbing app reviews. I guarantee they don't.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#69

Post by endisneigh »

Sad to say but it seems pretty are pretty dumb. Robinhood yields robinhood for first non-ad app, same with Bank of America, chase, Citi, etc. do people really just click the first thing they see? Wow.

As for the example - can’t replicate, but seems crazy to put a seed phrase into some random app you didn’t get yourself. Even if the app wasn’t a scam.

Re: Scammed by the top result for 'Bitcoin wallet' in Apple App Store

#70

Post by Animats »

OJFord wrote: post #56
blibble wrote: post #8

I don't think I've ever searched for something on the app store and not got a scam as the first result just tried it - my bank? I get crypto.com - train company app? knockoff app that charges extra fees - my broker? CFD gambling app - official government app for paying my tax? intuit product I dare to think how many people this lures in scammy ads plastered everywhere is what I'd expect from Google products not for t…

> my broker? CFD gambling app I don't think 'gambling app' is a fair description given it's a regulated security, any broker that truly offers CFD trading is (1) going to be legit; (2) going to be competing with the broker you were searching for for result space. Of course to serve its users any app store should massively prioritise the word/brand (incl. typos) you actually search for though.

> any broker that truly offers CFD trading is (1) going to be legit;

Er, no. "Contracts for Difference" are the new binary options.

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