Suspicious activity displays the popular Android application VidMate, according to its laboratories Upstream, Greek technology company mobile internet.
ΌAccording to an announcement by Upstream, after installing the application, software is activated that secretly displays online ads, makes fake clicks and registers services, installs other suspicious applications and collects personal data of users without their knowledge or consent. As a result, it consumes users' data and inflates accounts with unwanted charges.
With over 500 million downloads worldwide, VidMate is a popular Android application for streaming, as well as downloading videos and songs, from platforms such as Dailymotion, Vimeo and YouTube. Not available in the Google Play Store, but distributed through app stores such as CNET and Uptodown. According to published data, VidMate was created by a subsidiary of UC Web, which belongs to the Chinese group Alibaba.
More specifically, according to the same announcement, the team of Upstream security platform in Athens, Secure-D, recently detected and prevented almost 130 million suspicious mobile transactions originating from the VidMate application. These transactions were located in 15 countries and involved about 5 million mobile devices. Unhindered, they would have enrolled users in value-added digital services, with unwanted charges of up to $ 170 million.
Most of VidMate's suspicious activity, which continues today, is located in 15 countries. In detail, 43 million suspicious transactions were detected in Egypt, 27 million in Myanmar, 21 million in Brazil, 10 million in Qatar and 8 million in South Africa. Other markets that have been significantly affected are Ethiopia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Kuwait. It should be noted that in these countries online payments via mobile phone account are quite popular and are often the only way to make payments and other financial transactions as most users do not have access to banking services.
Secure-D lab tests have also shown that VidMate is responsible for short battery life and reduced mobile range, while consuming more than 3GB of data per month. That translates to up to $ 100 extra a year in data charges, an amount that in a country like Brazil equals half a month of work with the minimum wage.
Finally, Secure-D research found that the malware behind VidMate collects users' personal information, such as the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and the International Mobile Identity (IMSI) or IP address, and transfers it to servers. of the Chinese company Nonolive in Singapore, funded by Alibaba according to published data.
Finally, Secure-D lab experts recommend that users who have downloaded the VidMate application delete it immediately.
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