The similarity in the core of equipment makes it difficult to distinguish them, but the originals have a hologram that characterizes them

Trezor, the manufacturer of some hardware portfolios for the storage of cryptocurrencies, published a statement in which it warns its clients about the production of false devices that are marketed under the name of the company and used to steal cryptocurrencies.

The modus operandi is to distribute an individual copy of Trezor One, using it as a tool to steal other people’s money and, in this way, damage the name of the company. In its statement, Trezor reported that they had already “become accustomed” to the existence of Trezor clones, created by legitimate companies, but marketed under a different name.

But the actual problem is the devices which have the purpose of stealing cryptoactives and not working in order to store the client’s patrimony. The similarity between the original products and their replicas is at its core. This is what makes it difficult to distinguish them. Criminals use products that were designed to be visually very similar, ensuring that there were no noticeable differences unless something in particular: the clone devices has security breaches through which the assets are illegally stolen.

In a post published on its official blog, Trezor explains: “These copies of Trezor One device represent a serious threat to customers, and also compromise the good name and reputation of our company”.

These fakes represent a threat to the security of cryptocurrency funds and other digital assets of users. “You would not trust your money to someone who had already cheated you, by selling you a different product than what you thought you were buying. Therefore, we recommend not using this device and reporting it to us, which would help us combat these scams and provide a legitimate device”, adds the company.

One of the indicators that has helped to identify these devices is that they tend to be commercialized with quite remarkable discounts, so the company invites to be very attentive to these misleading offers since “they cannot guarantee the proper functioning of the devices marketed under their name (the cloned ones), since these are produced by people outside the company”.

Another way to distinguish them to the originals ones is with the hologram that comes in the seal of the box. The holographic stamp that protects the packaging of the device, since the one used by cloning is much less detailed. To achieve this, the company uploaded a video through its official accounts so that customers can compare the corresponding stamps.

On the company’s website, they warn that these devices “are not suitable for the storage of cryptocurrencies”, inviting the affected people to inform the theft through the channels enabled to help Trezor to structure an action plan to combat this new modality of scams.

An answer to the scam

The directors claim to be exploring the legal steps and mechanisms that can be used to address this problem, seeking that the attackers continue to produce and market these devices.

The company claims that the customers who bought their Trezor through the official store have nothing to worry about, as well as those people who bought them through authorized stores during the years 2016-2017. The invitation is for all those people who decide to take advantage of deceptive offers that have been popularized through platforms such as Taobao, AliExpress, eBay or Amazon, which are published by unknown resellers.

The hardware portfolio provider warns customers to avoid online markets when they buy their wallet and only buy from authorized resellers and at the official Amazon store.

By María Victoria Rodríguez