A US senator has written to the CEOs of Apple and Google, demanding action against fake crypto apps.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has asked the tech giant to explain its procedures for testing and approving crypto trading and wallet applications for download on the Google and Apple App Stores.
Senator seeks answers from CEO
The senator wrote in separate letters to Google’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook. Brown said: “Millions of Americans use mobile apps to invest in unregulated digital assets, including cryptocurrencies.”
“While crypto apps have offered investors an easy and convenient way to trade cryptocurrencies, there have been reports of fake crypto apps that defrauded hundreds of investors,” he said.
Brown also cited a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the development of fake Bitcoin mobile apps designed by cybercriminals to defraud investors.
“According to the FBI, in one case, cybercriminals defrauded at least two dozen investors by creating a mobile app that used the name and logo of an actual trading platform,” he said.
The agency identified 244 crypto victims and estimated the damages associated with these crimes to be approximately $42.7 million.
In response, Brown has sought details of the companies’ review process, steps taken to ensure that operators do not circumvent policies, and the companies’ respective reporting procedures for fraudulent applications.
Both Google and Apple have been detailed about the steps they have taken to ensure customer safety and fraud awareness, as well as the actions taken against these activities since early 2020.
The companies have till August 10 to respond.
Watchdogs crack down on scammers
Since the market downturn, watchdogs have started taking strict action against scammers.
In the Central District of California, the CEO of Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS) pleaded guilty to his part in a crypto fraud scheme involving TBIS’s initial coin offering (ICO).
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also filed a complaint against Mirror Trading International (MTI), a South African business, for fraud and registration violation.
And Randall Carter, the creator of the My Big Coin cryptocurrency firm, was found guilty of wire fraud and unauthorized transactions in Boston last week following a commodities fraud complaint initially filed by the CFTC.
