Currently we must be very careful when browsing the Internet , especially when visiting pages that we do not know. Hackers lurk in any corner of the network, so it is extremely important to stay away from unknown locations.
Although these cybercriminals increasingly find more subtle ways to introduce some malware on our device or to extract personal information. Google Play is one of the places where, more and more frequently, they try to attack us through fake applications trying to steal our money .
More than 100 fake apps
Although Google works tirelessly to remove these softwares, some of them go unnoticed for a while even with the help of Google Play Protect. It has been the security company Avast that has reported a scam that has been going on for months and that is carried out through SMS .
The fake applications were distributed by these messages. In particular, there are 151 applications that hackers use to take your money. It is understandable that some of them go red-handed in front of company controls, since they seem completely legitimate. If you have suffered suspicious activities in your account, you can consult the complete list of applications.
Not just your money
According to the information provided by Avast, your bank account is not the only item in danger . Downloading one of these fake apps will give them access to your location , the IMEI of your terminal, as well as your phone number.
On the other hand, the Premium SMS service has a price of 40 dollars a month, which has been around 35 euros. However, this amount is charged weekly until the user realizes it.
How do they do that?
The procedure they used for this is really simple. When you open one of these applications, a screen appears asking you to enter your phone number or email address . This is how it all begins.
As if this were not enough, some of these tools were disseminated by well-known social networks such as Facebook, TikTok or Instagram . Thus reaching a very alarming number of people.
“The profiles feature eye-catching photos and engaging app descriptions alongside often high review averages. However, on closer inspection, they do have generic privacy policy statements and present basic developer profiles that include generic email addresses. They also tend to have numerous negative reviews from users who have correctly identified the applications as scams or have fallen into them, “they say from the Avast company.