Apple’s App Store promoted fake Bitcoin wallet that stole $1.8M after developer spent a year warning them

Apple’s tightly controlled App Store is facing renewed scrutiny after three Bitcoin holders alleged they lost $1.8 million to a fake crypto wallet, adding to a growing list of malicious wallet apps that have reached users despite the company’s screening process.The lawsuit, filed July 24 in California, accuses Apple of failing to adequately review and remove applications impersonating Sparrow Wallet while promoting the App Store as a safe and trusted source for software.The case follows warnings dating back more than two years about fake Sparrow apps and comes months after researchers identified 26 applications impersonating major crypto brands across Apple’s ecosystem.Together, the incidents are putting pressure on one of Apple’s longstanding arguments for maintaining tight control over software distribution: that screening applications before they reach users provides greater protection against fraud and malicious software.Sparrow developer warned Apple more than a year before lossesApple’s exposure in the case rests less on the initial appearance of a fraudulent app than on what the company allegedly knew before later victims were hit.Sparrow founder Craig Raw had been flagging ...