The Protocol Podcast host Eric Savics is the latest victim of a Bitcoin phishing scam after using a malicious version of a hardware wallet app.
In a tweet posted on Friday, Savics revealed that he lost seven years worth of his BTC savings when he downloaded a fake desktop KeepKey Bitcoin wallet plugin from the Google Chrome store.
Savics entered his recovery phrase when the app prompted him to, unaware that it was a crypto phishing scam. The recovery phrase acts as the master key that unlocks the funds in a wallet. Savics says the cyber thieves immediately cleaned out his balance.
Savics later spotted a tell-tale sign that what he had downloaded was a fake app. But it was already too late.
Erik Voorhees, CEO of crypto exchange ShapeShift, which operates the KeepKey wallet, says he feels sorry for Savics and urges others to be more vigilant in safeguarding their Bitcoin.
Savics has issued a plea on Twitter.
ShapeShift earlier warned of fraudulent KeepKey apps in the Chrome store, telling users that the exchange never asks anyone to key in their 12-word seed phrase.
“It is essential to use either of the two official software clients for your KeepKey: The ShapeShift Platform or the KeepKey Chrome Client.”
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