Daedalus Fake Cardano Wallet Application

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Daedalus Wallet Homepage/Logo

An application for Daedalus, a popular Cardano blockchain full node wallet, was posted on the Google Play store with thousands of positive reviews. However, if a user downloaded and attempted to use this wallet, their funds would be stolen from them. At least one user fell victim and lost a reported $34,000 USD worth of Cardano. The application was ultimately removed from the store after multiple days, and there is no word on whether any of the affected users were able to recover funds.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

About Google Play

"WELCOME TO DAEDALUS WALLET The open source wallet for ada, built to grow with the Cardano blockchain."

"Daedalus is a secure wallet for the ada cryptocurrency. Download and install the wallet so you can keep your ada safe."

"Daedalus is a full node wallet. This means that unlike light wallets (e.g.Yoroi, Adalite etc.) Daedalus downloads a full copy of the Cardano blockchain and independently validates every transaction in its history. That way you get maximum security and completely trustless operation, without centrally hosted 3rd party servers."

"Manage any number of wallets with our hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallet implementation. Have more control over how your funds are organized. Use our powerful back-up and restoration features to recover your funds if necessary."

"All major desktop operating systems are supported. Daedalus runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Daedalus is built with web technologies on top of Electron, a battle-proven open-source platform for writing cross-platform desktop applications."

"Fake reviews are extremely easy to acquire. Don’t ever make decisions based on any reviews unless you can somehow verify it’s real (you have to verify it! Not google not amazon, etc)"

"PSA - the r/cardano community has found a scam wallet app on the Google play store.

Do not download this app, it is not legitimate and all of the top 5 star reviews are fake.

We are trying to have it removed ASAP before anyone gets scammed.

The real Daedalus app is a desktop only app available via the Cardano website (cardano DOT org) which points to daedaluswallet DOT io"

"daedalus downloads the entire blockchain, it's just not possible for mobile apps now. someone lost 34k ada from the scam app recently, hopefully nobody else"

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - Daedalus Fake Cardano Wallet Application

Date	Event	Description
February 26th, 2021 5:19:37 PM MST	Capture of App	A capture is taken of the app page in the Google Play store being online with an average rating of 4.8 and almost all reviews being 4 or 5 stars.
February 27th, 2021 7:14:46 AM MST	Capture of App	A capture is taken of the app page in the Google Play store being online with an average rating of 4.7. Almost all reviews are still 4 or 5 stars, though the portion of 1 star reviews is slightly higher.
February 27th, 2021 4:08:43 PM MST	Warning On Reddit	A warning post about the application is posted on Reddit.
February 27th, 2021 4:25:04 PM MST	Warning On Reddit	A warning is posted in the Cardano subreddit as well.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $34,000 USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.