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Android smartphone users use Google Play usually to download or buy various apps for their phone, but Google assures you that every app on the Google Play is genuine and there is no spam or malware inside it? Answer is NO.
According to a recent study of the Japanese security software company Trend Micro has found more than 900,000 fake apps on the trusted Google Play Store.
These apps are being used to steal your personal, financial information or aggressively serving ads.
These apps looks like real, and claim to be genuine but in-real, it asks you for some permissions that allows the fake app to steal your personal information or to use your phone for some illegal purposes too.
Company researched about top 50 Google Apps for a fake one in the Play Store and found fake versions existed for 77 percent of the apps, cleverly disguised to look and act like the real apps but loaded with malicious code.
“A more recent example of a rogue antivirus app known as “Virus Shield” received a 4.7-star rating after being downloaded more than 10,000 times, mostly with the aid of bots,” Trend Micro said in its report.
Cheekily, scammers charged $3.99 for the fake app, which promised to prevent harmful apps from being installed. It was removed by Google after a few days, but not before it fooled thousands of users and even became a “top new paid app” in the Play Store. Trend said it was “perplexing” how the app achieved “top” status.
This report from Trend Micro comes on the same day when Google announced its Project Zero for which Google hires top class hackers to serve its services malware free.
Google’s announcement was “ironic” considering the large number of problems Trend Micro found in Google’s own backyard. I strongly suggest they take aim at the Android marketplace and Google Play,” said JD Sherry, vice president of technology and solutions at Trend Micro.
According to a recent study of the Japanese security software company Trend Micro has found more than 900,000 fake apps on the trusted Google Play Store.
These apps are being used to steal your personal, financial information or aggressively serving ads.
These apps looks like real, and claim to be genuine but in-real, it asks you for some permissions that allows the fake app to steal your personal information or to use your phone for some illegal purposes too.
Company researched about top 50 Google Apps for a fake one in the Play Store and found fake versions existed for 77 percent of the apps, cleverly disguised to look and act like the real apps but loaded with malicious code.
“A more recent example of a rogue antivirus app known as “Virus Shield” received a 4.7-star rating after being downloaded more than 10,000 times, mostly with the aid of bots,” Trend Micro said in its report.
Cheekily, scammers charged $3.99 for the fake app, which promised to prevent harmful apps from being installed. It was removed by Google after a few days, but not before it fooled thousands of users and even became a “top new paid app” in the Play Store. Trend said it was “perplexing” how the app achieved “top” status.
This report from Trend Micro comes on the same day when Google announced its Project Zero for which Google hires top class hackers to serve its services malware free.
Google’s announcement was “ironic” considering the large number of problems Trend Micro found in Google’s own backyard. I strongly suggest they take aim at the Android marketplace and Google Play,” said JD Sherry, vice president of technology and solutions at Trend Micro.