Warning to Android phone users who download apps

Android phone users are being warned about downloading certain apps.

It comes as thousands could be affected by an invasive malware. SharkBot is a banking trojan which was first discovered in 2018 and the malicious app was found targeting cryptocurrency apps where it would steal the victims' login information, allowing hackers to use the victims' accounts.

The malicious malware has been affecting apps on Google Play, it was discovered earlier this week. As a precaution, users are being warned against downloading certain apps and if they are already owned then they should be deleted.

The two apps which have been corrupted are Mister Phone Cleaner and Kylhavy Mobile Security. Anyone who has both apps installed on to their devices have been urged to delete them immediately.

The apps have both now been deleted from the Google app store but phones with the apps already downloaded could still be at risk of falling victim to the cyber crime. Speaking to The Express about the malware, Fox-IT's Alberto Segura said: "This new version asks the victim to install the malware as a fake update for the antivirus to stay protected against threats.

"We have found two SharkbotDopper apps active in Google Play Store, with 10K and 50K installs each of them. On the 22nd of August 2022, Fox-IT’s Threat Intelligence team found a new Sharkbot sample with version 2.25; communicating with command-and-control servers mentioned previously. This Sharkbot version introduced a new feature to steal session cookies from the victims that logs into their bank account."

By using Sharkbot, scammers can bypass Google's stringent security credentials and steal money from Android users' online bank accounts, and create fake login pages for the hackers to steal user names and passwords.

How to delete apps on Android