Apple is facing a lawsuit after three users alleged they lost a combined $1.8 million in Bitcoin by downloading a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet application from the Apple App Store.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, claims Apple failed to properly review and monitor applications listed on its App Store, despite promoting the platform as a secure and trusted marketplace for users.
According to the complaint, plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado unknowingly downloaded a fake version of Sparrow Wallet, a popular Bitcoin wallet. After entering their wallet recovery seed phrases into the counterfeit application, scammers allegedly gained access to their funds and transferred the Bitcoin out of their wallets.
The lawsuit states that the three users lost approximately $875,000, $840,000, and $120,000, respectively, during 2025.
Sparrow Wallet’s developer, Craig Raw, has previously warned users about fake versions of the wallet appearing on Apple’s App Store. The legitimate Sparrow Wallet is available only on Windows, macOS and Linux and has never released an official iOS application.
Apple said it has since removed the fraudulent applications and permanently terminated the developer accounts responsible for publishing them. The company also noted that both developers and users can report applications that violate App Store policies, adding that it takes action against apps found to be impersonating legitimate software or otherwise breaching its platform guidelines.
The lawsuit raises fresh questions about app store security and the responsibility of platform operators to prevent fraudulent cryptocurrency applications from reaching users, particularly as digital asset scams continue to target investors worldwide.
