{"id":138218,"date":"2026-10-07T10:29:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T03:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/?p=138218"},"modified":"2026-10-07T10:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T03:55:24","slug":"sparkcat-steal-recovery-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/sparkcat-steal-recovery-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"SparkCat: How Malicious Apps Steal Wallet Recovery Phrases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Could an app downloaded from the App Store or Google Play put your crypto wallet at risk? SparkCat, a malware campaign publicly documented by Kaspersky in February 2025, showed how <\/span><\/i><b><i>malicious code embedded in seemingly legitimate apps<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could search users\u2019 photos for wallet recovery phrases. Following Kaspersky\u2019s discovery, Google and Apple removed multiple infected apps from Google Play and the App Store, showing that even apps downloaded from official stores aren\u2019t always safe.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how SparkCat works and what wallet owners can learn from it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is SparkCat?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SparkCat is information-stealing malware found in Android and iOS apps. It was embedded in software components used by the apps, including software development kits (SDKs). Some affected apps offered ordinary services, such as food delivery, while others appeared to have been created to lure victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once granted access to photos, SparkCat uses optical character recognition (OCR) &#8211; technology that reads text in images &#8211; to search accessible pictures and screenshots for wallet recovery phrases. Matching images are sent to the attackers, potentially giving them the information needed to access the affected wallets and steal their funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138223\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138223\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-138223 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-5.webp\" alt=\"A negative review of ComeCome on Apple\u2019s App Store warned about photo permissions. Source: Kaspersky\" width=\"800\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-5.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-5-300x149.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-5-768x380.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138223\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A negative review of ComeCome on Apple\u2019s App Store warned about photo permissions. Source: Kaspersky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/sparkcat-stealer-in-app-store-and-google-play\/115385\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Kaspersky<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, infected apps had accumulated more than 242,000 downloads on Google Play alone at the time of its analysis. That figure measures app downloads, not confirmed wallet thefts.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138220\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138220\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-138220 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-2.webp\" alt=\"Kaspersky could not confirm whether developers added the malware deliberately or through a compromised component\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-2.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-2-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-2-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138220\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaspersky could not confirm whether developers added the malware deliberately or through a compromised component<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>How the SparkCat malware works<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>1. Asking for photo access<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a user opens a feature such as a support chat, the infected app may request permission to access photos and screenshots.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If permission is granted, SparkCat starts scanning the images the app is allowed to access. <\/span><b>Granting full photo access can expose the entire library.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-138221 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-3.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-3.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-3-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-3-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Scanning photos using OCR technology<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SparkCat uses the text-recognition features in <\/span><b>Google ML Kit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to read text in photos &#8211; a process called optical character recognition (OCR).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It looks for keywords and text patterns associated with wallet recovery phrases. Its search rules come from the attackers\u2019 command-and-control (C2) server and can be updated. The malware can recognise Latin, Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters, allowing it to search across multiple languages.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3. Sending data to the attackers<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Images that match the search criteria are uploaded to servers used by the attackers, along with information about the device and the text detected in the images.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaspersky also identified a communication component written in Rust &#8211; an unusual choice for mobile apps &#8211; which complicated its analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>4. Staying hidden<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By requesting photo access during ordinary activities, such as opening a support chat, SparkCat makes the permission request appear routine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behind the scenes, it uses encrypted configuration data, domain names resembling legitimate services and malicious components disguised as ordinary system software. Its code is also deliberately obscured &#8211; a technique called <\/span><b>obfuscation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; to make detection and analysis harder.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Which apps were affected by SparkCat malware?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2025, Kaspersky reported finding <\/span><b>SparkCat malware in 10 Android apps on Google Play and 11 iOS apps on Apple\u2019s App Store<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These included ComeCome, a food delivery service with infected versions on both platforms. The affected Android apps had collectively exceeded <\/span><b>242,000 downloads on Google Play<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the time of analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other affected apps included messaging apps, news readers and crypto wallet utilities. Some appeared to offer legitimate services, while others &#8211; including several messaging apps claiming AI features &#8211; appeared to have been created to lure victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138226\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138226\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-138226 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-8.webp\" alt=\"There\u2019s no free lunch in crypto, either. SparkCat spread through seemingly legitimate apps listed in official app stores\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-8.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-8-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-8-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138226\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">There\u2019s no free lunch in crypto, either. SparkCat spread through seemingly legitimate apps listed in official app stores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaspersky assessed that the campaign targeted users in <\/span><b>Europe and Asia, potentially extending to other regions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This assessment was based on the malware\u2019s search languages and dictionaries, alongside the countries served by affected apps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search keywords supplied by the attackers\u2019 command-and-control (C2) servers included terms in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Czech, French, Italian, Polish and Portuguese. These terms focused on wallet recovery phrases.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138225\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138225\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-138225 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-7.webp\" alt=\"Examples of messaging apps Kaspersky identified as carrying SparkCat on Apple\u2019s App Store. Source: Kaspersky\" width=\"800\" height=\"1422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-7.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-7-169x300.webp 169w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-7-576x1024.webp 576w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-7-768x1365.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Examples of messaging apps Kaspersky identified as carrying SparkCat on Apple\u2019s App Store. Source: Kaspersky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Consequences &amp; risks<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SparkCat is especially dangerous if you keep photos or screenshots of your wallet recovery phrase (seed phrase) in your phone\u2019s gallery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First off &#8211; don\u2019t ever take pictures of your seed phrase!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-138224 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-6.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-6.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-6-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-6-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use proper offline backup methods for your seed phrase &#8211; including tools such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/shop\/product\/steel-plate-crypto-seed-phrase-backup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BitcoinVN\u2019s steel plates for seed-phrase backup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; to help keep your seed phrase safe even in the event of fire, flooding or other disasters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The malware\u2019s scanning rules could also be adapted to target other sensitive information captured in accessible photos and screenshots, including passwords and private messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the documented SparkCat findings, AI tools could help criminals analyze stolen information, build profiles of potential victims and identify lucrative targets for scams or extortion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SparkCat\u2019s presence in Google Play and Apple\u2019s App Store shows that <\/span><b>store screening is not foolproof<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Seemingly ordinary permission requests and deliberately obscured code helped the malware operate unnoticed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a familiar saying in software engineering: <\/span><b>\u201cSoftware is a liability\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; an idea echoed in Jeff Atwood\u2019s 2007 essay<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.codinghorror.com\/the-best-code-is-no-code-at-all\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Best Code Is No Code at All<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that has held up well for nearly two decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The security lesson for users is straightforward: every additional app introduces something else you must trust. <\/span><b>If you don\u2019t need it &#8211; or have doubts about its safety &#8211; don\u2019t install it.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>If SparkCat could access a photo of your seed phrase, treat that phrase as compromised.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Using a clean device, promptly move any remaining funds to a newly created wallet with a <\/span><b>new seed phrase<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Deleting the infected app &#8211; or factory-resetting your phone &#8211; does not make an exposed seed phrase safe again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More generally, <\/span><b>keep private-key and seed-phrase backups offline.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Do not photograph them, store them on your phone or upload them to online services.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Keep long-term crypto custody separate from everyday device use.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/shop\/product-category\/hardware-wallets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dedicated hardware wallets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and keep your recovery backups offline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduce your attack surface by minimising the apps and software you install. <\/span><b>Do not blindly trust Google, Apple or other Big Tech companies to keep you safe.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_138222\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138222\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-138222 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-4.webp\" alt=\"Keep your seed phrases offline and protected\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-4.webp 800w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-4-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/insights\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SparkCat-4-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-138222\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinvn.io\/shop\/product\/steel-plate-crypto-seed-phrase-backup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keep your seed phrases offline<\/a> and protected<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cybercriminals around the world are scheming right now to take everything they can from you and your loved ones. As the head of your household, <\/span><b>it is your responsibility to take the necessary precautions to protect your family.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prepare or perish &#8211; the choice is yours.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could an app downloaded from the App Store or Google Play put your crypto wallet at risk? SparkCat, a malware campaign publicly documented by Kaspersky in February 2025, showed how malicious code embedded in seemingly legitimate apps could search users\u2019 photos for wallet recovery phrases. Following Kaspersky\u2019s discovery, Google and Apple removed multiple infected apps [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":138219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10528],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersec-custody"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SparkCat: How Malicious Apps Steal Wallet Recovery Phrases - BV Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Crypto security alert: Discover how the SparkCat malware exploits malicious apps to steal wallet recovery phrases. 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