MyEtherWallet Fake Wallet Application

Notice: This page is a freshly imported case study from the original repository. The original content was in a different format, and may not have relevant information for all sections. Please help restructure the content by moving information from the 'About' section to other sections, and add any missing information or sources you can find. If you are new here, please read General Tutorial on Wikis or Anatomy of a Case Study for help getting started.

Notice: This page contains sources which are not attributed to any text. The unattributed sources follow the initial description. Please assist by visiting each source, reviewing the content, and placing that reference next to any text it can be used to support. Feel free to add any information that you come across which isn't present already. Sources which don't contain any relevant information can be removed. Broken links can be replaced with versions from the Internet Archive. See General Tutorial on Wikis, Anatomy of a Case Study, and/or Citing Your Sources Guide for additional information. Thanks for your help!

MyEtherWallet

MyEtherWallet is one of the oldest wallets for Ethereum. On December 10th, 2017, a fake version of the application made it's way to number 3 position on the Apple app store. Not only did thousands of people download the free software and pay the $4.99 pricetag, but they may also have put their funds at risk in doing so.

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

About MyEtherWallet

"MEW (MyEtherWallet) is a free, client-side interface helping you interact with the Ethereum blockchain. Our easy-to-use, open-source platform allows you to generate wallets, interact with smart contracts, and so much more."

"Taylor Manahan and Kosala Hemachandra founded MEW (MyEtherWallet) back in 2015, not long after Ethereum was created."

"A fake app pretending to be from MyEtherWallet somehow made it through Apple’s app review process and became the third most popular finance app over the weekend." "Fake copies and replicas of cryptocurrency wallets are dangerous for investors as Lundkvist emphasized because they are capable of stealing user funds."

"At this point, it’s not clear whether the app is just trying to make money by selling a $4.99 version of open-source software, or is a scam attempting to steal ETH and other crypto coins."

"This is NOT US. We have file (sic) reports and emailed and reported. Would appreciate the communities assistance in getting these scamtards out of our lives."

"The tweet also notes that MEW (commonly used acronym for MyEtherWallet) is "Foss4lyfe," implying the company does not endorse profiting from free and open-source software (FOSS). MyEtherWallet is free to use, while the fake MyEtherWallet is being sold for $4.99."

"The app developer — who is listed is Nam Le — has three other apps with Apple, including two panda fighting games, but no history of crypto or bitcoin services […]"

"The app notes claim all keys are stored on device, but nevertheless granting an unknown developer full trust of wallet information, be it importing an existing wallet or creating a new one, is certainly ill-advised." "A digital wallet is comprised of a public address where money can be sent, and a private key known only by the owner. Le’s app claims to store keys encrypted locally on your device, but turning over your bitcoin to an unknown wallet developer with a purposely misleading name is a risky proposition to say the least."

"It's unclear whether the fake MEW app is an actual Ethereum wallet that's trying to bring in some traffic from the MEW name, or something far more nefarious. At worst, it could be stealing users' private keys and their money, and using it in any way is definitely not recommended."

"It took several days for Apple to remove [the] fake MyEtherWallet from its App Store despite it getting over 3000 downloads."

"The false MyEtherWallet app has been removed from the iOS store. Finally. Thank you a TON to everyone who signal boosted this for us, including @verge and @TechCrunch."

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 - MyEtherWallet Fake Wallet Application

Date	Event	Description
December 10th, 2017 12:46:00 AM MST	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown.

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.