Over the last one year, Google has steadily scaled up security to thwart malware-laced apps entering the Android ecosystem and despite the efforts, the threat actors are coming up with more devious ways to bypass the firewall.
In the latest instance, 25 more bad apps categorized as Fleeceware have been detected in the Play store, courtesy mobile security researchers at SophosLabs.
What's scarier is that they have combined installation of 600 million on more than 100 million Android devices and people don't even know they have one or maybe two.
What is Fleeceware?
These apps usually come off as benign utility tools for phones such as photo editor, visually appealing keypad with fancy emojis, camera apps and even in the form of horoscope prediction.
They usually offer free service for a limited time, so that the phone owners get a sneak peek on features they want to use and if they don't, they can uninstall them.
But, these Fleeceware-laced apps insist the users type in their credit/debit card details with the assurance that they won't charged unless he/she wants.
However, these apps sneakily tick the auto-renewal option without user consent, meaning the app will have permission to auto-debit the fees monthly or yearly.
Once the limited free service ends, it takes money out of the victim's bank/credit account. Previously, these Fleeceware apps are known to siphon off hundreds of Dollars or Euros depending on the region of the user resides.
Some sneaky apps can detect the user is about to remove them. They create a fake shortcut and goes into the background with a logo mimicking Google services.
People are advised to remove the apps (shown in the top picture) from their mobiles immediately.
Read more | How safeguard your mobile from malware and virus
Before downloading an app, always look for the publisher's name and also make it a habit of viewing at least five to 10 reviews on the Play store. There's you will get an idea of how the app service is.
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