Beware of fake apps designed to help hackers empty your bank account
Vienna (dpa) — If you download an app and then are immediately asked to download an add-on for it, alarm bells should be ringing. That’s because criminals are using this method to circumvent app store security measures and capture users’ banking details.
The Austria-based consumer initiative Watchlist-Internet has warned of a scam in which Android users have downloaded seemingly harmless apps such as PDF readers from the Google Play Store.
If they then install an add-on up request, they’re actually installing malware onto their smartphone.
The banking Trojan Anatsa then records user keystrokes using a key-logger so that the criminals can steal sensitive information, such as input data for online banking.
In the worst-case scenario, they can then empty their victims' bank accounts. Watchlist-Internet advises people to read the reviews on the app store before downloading an app, as there may already be warnings about this here.
If you do install a Trojan on your device in this way you should uninstall the app and report the incident to the app store to protect others. When complaints accumulate, the stores delete such apps. The experts also recommend going to the police and filing a report.
