Users Lose $588,000 in BTC by Downloading the Fake Ledger Live App

• A fake Ledger Live app appeared on the official Microsoft App Store, trapping users to download it.
• Users who downloaded the fake app lost 16.8 BTC worth $588,000.
• The hacker’s wallet currently holds $473,800 or 13.5 BTC after moving $115,200

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT unearthed the appearance of a fake Ledger Live app on the official Microsoft App Store, causing a loss of more than 16 Bitcoins (BTC). As per a post dated November 5, shared by ZachXBT on X, users are trapped to downloading the scam, “Ledger Live Web3”, creating an illusion of Ledger Live, the Ledger hardware wallet’s user interface.  

Currently, around 16.8 BTC worth $588,000 have been stolen by the scammer from users who have already downloaded the fake application. Reportedly, the first transaction in the exploiter’s wallet address was on October 24, which accounted for $5,210. Since November 2, the account has been involved in massive transactions, of which the largest occurred on November 4, totaling $81,200.

Data revealed by Blockchain.com suggested that the attacker received these Bitcoins through 38 transactions using the wallet address bc1qg05gw43elzqxqnll8vs8x47ukkhudwyncxy64q. Across two subsequent transactions, about $115,200 has been moved from the wallet, with the wallet currently holding $473,800 or 13.5 BTC.

The Ledger Live Web3 app first appeared on the Microsoft App Store in the middle of October.  Following the massive loss of Bitcoins, Microsoft apparently removed the fake application, as per a subsequent tweet by ZachXBT.

Previously, both in December 2022 and March 2023, the fake Ledger Live app appeared on the Microsoft app store. A post dated December 26, published by Ledger Support on X, stated that the only safe place to download Ledger Live is their website. They also warned users against the fake Ledger, pointing out, “Ledger will NEVER ask you for your 24-word recovery phrase.”