A HANDFUL of dodgy apps with tens of thousands of downloads have been unearthed by cyber researchers on the Google Play Store.
The downloads are disguised as regular apps to fool people but are loaded with malware that steals their banking details and more.
1
According to PhoneArena, six malicious apps were outed in recent days by cyber security firms SecneurX, D3Lab and Kaspersky.
Details were shared on Twitter by researchers Tatyana Shishkova, Igor Golovin and more.
The apps were dressed up to look like keyboard apps, translators, camera apps and more.
Three of them had more than 10,000 downloads from Google’s app store, which is used by billions of people across the globe.
And while some have been taken down by the search giant, others remained on the store at the time of writing.
According to the researchers, the downloads were version of either the Trojan or Joker malware.
They’re popular pieces of software that attackers use to break into people’s phones and steal their information.
If you have any of the apps listed by researchers you should delete them now.
Most read in Tech
Even if they’ve been booted off of the Play Store, they could still be active on your mobile.
The apps are: Document Manager, Coin track Loan – Online loan, Cool Caller Screen, PSD Auth Protector, RGB Emoji Keyboard and Camera Translator Pro.
Cyber crooks pull the trick off by downloading real apps before adding malicious code to them.
They then upload the app to the store under a different name, allowing them to skirt Google’s security systems.
Once on your phone, the apps will request access to text messages, notifications and more.
That allows the crooks behind the software to collect phone numbers, email addresses, passwords and even credit card details.
Cyber security professionals caution people against downloading apps from unofficial sources.
However, they also warn that you “shouldn’t let your guard down” when installing apps from Google Play.
Igor Golovin, a researcher at cyber security outfit Kaspersky, said last month: “Read the reviews, read up on the developer, the terms of use and payment,” Golovin advised.
“For messaging choose a well-known app with positive reviews.
“Even if you trust an app, you should avoid granting it too many permissions.
“Only allow access to notifications for apps that need it to perform their intended purposes — for example, to transfer notifications to wearable devices.
“Apps for something like themed wallpapers or photo editing don’t need access to your notifications.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
