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A fake app can do much more than fill your phone with unwanted ads. Generally, the concept is that monetary fraud can happen by clicking links or giving unknown people OTPs. However, scammers have now found a new way for this frauds.
Social media advertisements are now unsafe. It can also put your money and personal data at risk. India’s cybercrime authorities have warned Android users about harmful apps being promoted through Facebook and Instagram ads. These apps may be shown as adult or entertainment apps and look harmless.
Once users see that advertisement and click on it to download the app, they will be directed to a website to download an APK file instead of getting the app from the Google Play Store. The download of the file will make the user's data vulnerable to fraudsters.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) flagged apps such as Night Play, Reloop, Kyss, Vimo, Rivo, Nexo, and Vixa as risky. Once installed, these apps can ask for sensitive permissions. Even the authorities mentioned that in some cases, once the permissions are granted, it becomes hard for users to uninstall the apps from their devices.
Mayank Morya, Co-founder and CTO of Mitigata, mentioned that scammers generally target one of the most popular habits among Indians: clicking on something free and granting permissions. To raise awareness, he further added, “Never grant this permission to anything except a genuine screen reader.”
Varun Grover, Business Unit Head at mFilterIt, mentioned, “Malicious apps promoted through social media are a warning that digital fraud is moving upstream, from the point of transaction to the point of discovery.”
Accessibility Services are meant to make phones easier to use for people with disabilities. Malware can exploit these tools to read the screen, tap buttons, and navigate other apps. This can give attackers a way to carry out actions on the phone without the user fully realizing what is happening. An unknown app asking for Accessibility access should be treated as a warning sign.
Staying safe does not have to be hard. Avoid APK files from random websites and links shared through social media. Download apps from trusted stores, keep Android updated, and leave Google Play Protect switched on.
