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ToggleHardware wallets are supposed to be the safest guardians of assets, but if fake accompanying software is downloaded, all the protection will be rendered useless.
Renowned blockchain detective ZachXBT issued an urgent community alert on his personal channel today (14th), revealing a major cryptocurrency phishing theft case that occurred on the Apple App Store. A fake app disguised as "Ledger Live," the official companion software to the hardware wallet Ledger, successfully bypassed Apple's application review and caused catastrophic losses in a very short time.
In just one week, 9.5 million tons of magnesium were snapped up, with the top three victims suffering heavy losses.
According to ZachXBT's on-chain tracking data, the theft primarily occurred between April 7th and 13th, 2026. The fake app successfully stole a total of $9.5 million in crypto assets from over 50 suspected victims by tricking users into entering seed phrase or authorizing malicious transactions.
The affected networks encompassed major public blockchains, including Bitcoin, EVM-compatible chains, Tron, Solana, and Ripple. Among them, the three most severely affected victims each suffered losses reaching a staggering seven figures:
- Victims on April 9: Losses amounted to $3.23 million (3.23 million USDT).
- Victims on April 11: Losses amounted to $2.079 million (2.079 million USDC).
- Victims on April 8: Total losses amounted to approximately $1.95 million (including 20.64 BTC, 211 stETH, and 70 ETH).
The stolen money flowed to KuCoin
After acquiring the huge sum of money, the hackers immediately began a sophisticated money laundering operation. ZachXBT pointed out that the stolen funds were mainly laundered through deposit addresses on more than 150 KuCoin exchanges, and these addresses were all associated with a centralized coin mixing service called "AudiA6," which is known for charging high fees to help launder illicit funds.
ZachXBT specifically named KuCoin for the sharp increase in illegal activities on its platform over the past year, and listed the exchange's recent regulatory blunders:
- January 2025: KuCoin paid a massive fine of over $300 million to the U.S. government to settle for violating anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
- February 2026: Although KuCoin had just obtained the EU's MiCA license in November 2025, it was subsequently banned by Austrian regulators from recruiting new EU users.
Apple swiftly removed the app from its App Store; ZachXBT calls for a class-action lawsuit.
Faced with such a serious security vulnerability, Apple officially removed the fake Ledger Live app from the App Store yesterday (13th). However, the damage has already been done, and many users are strongly dissatisfied with Apple's App Store ecosystem, which boasts "strict security reviews."
In his post, ZachXBT bluntly stated, "I'm curious whether this incident constitutes grounds for a class-action lawsuit against Apple?" This isn't the first time fake cryptocurrency wallet apps have appeared on the App Store. As losses continue to rise, tech giants' responsibility for preventing cryptocurrency fraud may face stricter legal scrutiny. We remind all cold wallet users to always download any accompanying software through official website links, and never search directly in app stores to avoid falling into phishing traps.
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