Apple Hit With Class Action Suit Over Alleged Scam Crypto Apps Made for ‘Pig Butchering’ Schemes

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Apple has allowed its App Store to carry malicious apps created for the sole purpose of stealing users’ crypto assets as part of investment scams known as “pig butchering.”

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The 27-page Apple lawsuit states that the tech giant touts its App Store as “a place [users] can trust” and assures that the apps therein are “held to the highest standards for privacy, security and content.” Per the case, Apple also claims that it “scan[s] each app for malware and other software that may impact user safety, security and privacy” and that “apps that solicit, promote or encourage criminal or clearly reckless behavior will be rejected.”

With regard to cryptocurrency exchange apps in particular, Apple represents that it follows a stringent set of security and quality standards when vetting the apps it allows to be sold or distributed via the App Store, the filing says.

However, the lawsuit alleges that multiple scam apps purporting to be cryptocurrency trading apps, including a program called Swiftcrypt, are available to download on the App Store, causing financial harm to consumers who have come to trust Apple’s promises and reputation of security.

“Unknown to Plaintiff and Class members, these applications ... were ‘spoofing’ programs created for the sole purpose of stealing fiat and cryptocurrency by obtaining consumers’ account information and thereafter routing Class members’ assets to the perpetrators’ personal accounts,” the class action suit alleges.

In the event a user attempts to withdraw funds, they are told there is an issue or that they have to pay immense fake taxes or undisclosed fees, the suit expands. Finally, after some time spent depositing funds into an app and seeing what seemed like legitimate asset growth, users’ assets were frozen and the funds were stolen, the case relays.

Per the suit, the criminal activity occurring in these apps follows the structure of a so-called “pig butchering scam,” whereby trust is built with a user through seemingly normal or positive online interaction, encouraging them to deposit increasingly large sums of money into the app until the scammer decides they’ve gathered enough. From there, the scammer will take all of a user’s funds and completely cut off the victim’s access to the money and any accounts they made through the scam program, the complaint explains.

The lawsuit claims that the creators of the fraudulent cryptocurrency apps knew that having their programs available on the App Store would lend significant credibility to their app due to its reputation of safety and that users who relied on Apple’s promises and reputation of security were fooled by the company into blindly trusting the legitimacy of any app on its App Store.

Apple, according to the filing, should have lived up to its promises of security and safety, especially given its exclusive control over which apps are available on their platform, and more carefully vetted the applications so that the scams never made it through to users in the first place.

“Contrary to Apple’s representations and stated processes for correction, Plaintiff and other users of Swiftcrypt were never notified by Apple that Swiftcrypt was a dangerous app used for fraud and malicious activity,” the lawsuit says. “Because of the false and deceptive material misrepresentations at issue, Plaintiff also overpaid for her iPhone.”

The class action lawsuit against Apple seeks to represent anyone whose funds were stolen through a supposed cryptocurrency trading app downloaded from the Apple App Store within the applicable statute of limitations up until the date that the official class notice is sent to proposed class members.

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