Google has issued an urgent warning to Android owners to delete a host of popular apps, after they were axed from the Google Play store.
The 12 apps in question had received millions of downloads before they were flagged by cybersecurity experts at Dr Web, reports the Express. The banned applications had been hidden as fitness, gaming or questionnaire platforms, and tricked users into clicking links that took them to unsafe websites.
One of the recently banned applications promised rewards for users to stay active, with exercise earning them points. However, when people tried to cash their points out, they were blocked from claiming them - or had to watch adverts for no reason.
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The cybersecurity experts have flagged apps using this tactic, that have been downloaded millions of times, including Tracker, WalkingJoy and Lucky Habit. However, at the time of writing, Lucky Habit has not yet been removed from the app store.
The next lot of banned apps were found to be trying to siphon data from users via phishing tactics. A phishing attack is when scammers trick users into clicking incorrect links that will download malware, or direct them to an unsafe website.
According to Dr.Web, some of these fake applications were distributed under the guise of investing software, directories, and questionnaires whilst others tempted users with the offer of simple and addictive games.
And due to this research, it was found that none of these features actually existed. Instead, victims inputted their personal data as an "application" for registration, or to communicate with a so-called “specialist”.
The apps which have all now been removed from the Play Store for using this tactic include:
- Golden Hunt - 100K downloads
- Reflector - 100K downloads
- Seven Golden Wolf blackjack - 100K downloads
- Unlimited Score - 50K downloads
- Big Decisions - 50K downloads
- Jewel Sea – 10K downloads
- Lux Fruits Game – 10K downloads
- Lucky Clover – 10K downloads
- King Blitz – 5K downloads
- Lucky Hammer – 1Kdownloads
According to detection statistics collected by Dr.Web for Android, the activity of adware trojans and spyware increased in December 2022.
At the same time, many new threats were discovered on Google Play over the course of last month. Among them were dozens of fake apps and trojans that subscribe victims to paid services.
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