DeFiLlama funded a wallet, connected it to a fake app on the App Store, and let it drain the funds. Apple removed the scam within days after months of ignored reports.
Alpha Score of 56 reflects moderate overall profile with moderate momentum, weak value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
DeFiLlama, the decentralized finance analytics platform, did something unusual to get a fraudulent app removed from Apple's App Store. After months of ignored trademark reports, the team funded a small wallet, connected it to the impersonating app, and watched the funds get drained. Then they took the evidence to Apple. The fake app was removed within days.
DeFiLlama founder 0xngmi described the ordeal publicly. The team had flagged the fake DeFiLlama app for trademark infringement multiple times over several months. Apple did not act, he said. So DeFiLlama gave Apple what it seemed to require: proof that the app was actively stealing money.
The setup was straightforward. The team loaded a small amount of funds into a wallet and connected that wallet to the impersonating app. Once the scam app drained the wallet, DeFiLlama presented the evidence to Apple. This time the response was swift, a sharp contrast to the months of inaction that came before.
While DeFiLlama was battling the fake app, it delayed the launch of its own official mobile application. Releasing a legitimate version while an impersonator was still live would only confuse users, the team reasoned.
DeFiLlama is one of the most widely used analytics dashboards in decentralized finance, aggregating data on total value locked across hundreds of protocols. An official mobile app would serve millions of users who currently rely on the web version.
0xngmi did not disclose how much was in the sacrificial wallet or specify the exact dates of the test drain. No information about the developers behind the fraudulent app has been made public either. The focus of the public disclosure was squarely on Apple's process, or lack thereof.
Apple's App Store review process has long been marketed as a safeguard against malicious software. That narrative takes a hit when a known scam app survives months of reports and only gets pulled after a project engineers its own theft as evidence.
For users, the lesson is older but no less important. Always verify the developer of any app before connecting a wallet. Check a project's official website or social channels for direct links to their app.
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