These 9 apps on Google Play Store were infected with malware that stole Facebook credentials, delete them now

Highlights

• Nine apps on Google Play Store have found to be infected with malware.
• These apps are fully capable of stealing the Facebook credentials of users.
• Google has removed these nine apps from the Google Play Store.

In July last year, Google had removed 11 applications from the Google Play Store as they were infected with Joker malware. As it turns out, nine more apps that are available on Google Play Store are infected with malware. What is even worse that these apps might have risked the Facebook accounts of around six million users. According to Dr Web, these applications ask users to log into their Facebook accounts to get rid of ads, and when users type the Facebook credentials, these apps steal the login ID and password, risking the security of their Facebook accounts. Google has removed these nine applications from the Google Play Store but not before these apps were downloaded millions of times. Here is the complete story.

Also read: Beware! ‘Flubot’ malware targeting Android phones can steal your netbanking passwords

Facebook accounts of 6 million users at risk due to malware-infected Android apps

On July 1st, Dr Web published a report showing proof that nine applications that are available on the Google Play Store are infected with malware and that these apps are stealing the Facebook credentials of the users. According to Dr Web, these applications contain advertisements and ask users to log in to their Facebook accounts to get rid of the ads. When a user agrees to log in to Facebook, these apps load the genuine Facebook page. However, these applications immediately load a JavaScript that they receive from a C&C server into the WebView. This script steals the login ID and password that the user types on the page. Below are the names of these nine malware-infected apps. 

• PIP Photo (more than 50,80,000 downloads)
• Processing Photo (more than 5,00,000 downloads)
• Rubbish Cleaner (more than 1,00,000 downloads)
• Inwell Fitness (more than 1,00,000 downloads)
• Horoscope Daily (more than 1,00,000 downloads)
• App Lock Keep (more than 50,000 downloads)
• Lockit Master (more than 5,000 downloads)
• Horoscope Pi (more than 1,000 downloads)
• App Lock Manager (more than 10 downloads)

Google quickly acted on the information revealed by Dr Web and removed the nine applications from the Google Play Store along with banning the accounts of these developers. However, when combined, these applications were downloaded more than six million times before they were removed. So, it is possible that the Facebook credentials of around six million users have been compromised. If you have any of these apps on your device, you should delete them right now.

While Google acted quickly on the information, the question is that how did these apps pass Google’s security check. Evidently, Google’s current security measures aren’t enough to keep malware away from the Play Store.

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