Crypto scam app steals $5M before Google removes it

Cryptocurrency scam application Yobit Pro raked in over $5 million before it was removed from the Play Store after three months.

According to an Aug. 18 report by industry news outlet The Block, Florida resident Maria Vaca alone invested about $4.6 million worth of cryptocurrency through the app between February and July of 2023. She saw Yobit Pro indicate a balance of about $7 million when she attempted to withdraw the funds and encountered issues.

When she attempted the withdrawal, the application requested another $500,000 for alleged tax expenses. Vaca complied and provided the additional funds, only to have the Yobit Pro request another $2 million.

This is when things took a turn from bad to worse, as according to her lawsuit, she started receiving WhatsApp messages “threatening to kill her if she did not make a deposit.” Vaca contacted law enforcement and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which forwarded its complaint to Google on the same day.

Still, Vaca’s lawsuit states that Google took three months to remove Yobit Pro from its Play Store. This is the reason why Vaca is suing Google in California for at least $5 million in damages — based on her monetary loss. She explained that she believed Google kept scam apps out of the platform:

“As a result of Google’s material misrepresentations and other deceptive conduct, Ms. Vaca has been significantly damaged, including, but not limited to, financial losses of more than $5 Million, severe emotional and psychological distress, and the loss of the real estate business she spent most of her adult life trying to build.”

Vaca’s lawsuit highlights that about 12,759 Android devices installed the malicious app in question. The lawsuit also claims that at least five other people had a similar experience with Yobit Pro.

This is far from the first example of Google’s ecosystem being exploited to spread crypto scams. As ReadWrite reported back in late April, cybercriminals at the time exploited Google’s advertising platform to target users of the decentralized OTC trading platform Whales Market.

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