Belgian police warned her return of Trojan "Joker" , which attacks Android devices and is hidden in various applications on Google Play Store .
Αthis one malware is able to register the user in various payment services without his authorization and to gradually empty his bank accounts without even noticing it.
"This malware has been detected in eight Google Play Store applications that Google has now removed", The Belgian authorities report to a statement posted on their website on Friday.
The malware "Joker" became famous in 2017 for infecting and stealing money from its victims, hiding its infected code in various android applications. Since then, its defense systems Google Play Store have removed approximately 1.700 applications with the "Joker" malware before continuing to be downloaded by users.
In September 2020, the trojan "Joker" found again in others 24 Android applications who recorded more than 500 thousand downloads before being removed. It is estimated that at that time it affected more than 30 countries, including United States, Brazil and Spain. Through the violation of the restrictions set by the Android system on Smartphones, the hacker they could steal up to $ 7 per subscription per week, a number that has probably increased in recent months.
How does the Joker work in Android applications?
That's it 'Joker' belongs to a family malware known as Bread , the purpose of which is to violate them Google accounts of a mobile phone and yes authorize various functions without the user's consent.
Researchers from the cybersecurity company Quick Heal Security Lab, explain that the Joker can enters text messages , contacts and other information at infected smartphone.
What makes this malware more dangerous is its ability to registers the affected user of an Android Smartphone in paid services , usually Premium or the more expensive version, without the need for their authorization.
In the beginning, all the applications were infected by "The Joker" or else malware of this family, performed SMS scams , but then began to attack and online payments. These two techniques take advantage of the integration of telephone operators (mobile service providers) with service providers, to facilitate the payment of services with the mobile telephony account .
Both of these actions simply require verification of the device, but not of the user, and thus manage to automate payments without requiring any interaction with the user.
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«You risk being in for a big surprise at the end of the month when you see your bank account or credit card», said the Belgian police, referring to unknown charges to see the Joker victims at the end of the month.
In fact, it is very common for those affected by it Joker not be aware of the theft until they have thoroughly checked their account balance. This is because the bank does not suspect a seemingly "normal" subscription and, in general, the charges are so small that they are not detected as unusual transactions, so they do not even send a notice of this charge to the account holder.
In which Android applications could the Joker Trojan be found?
Malicious applications deleted by Google Play Store after finding that they contained it "Joker" is:
- Auxiliary message
- Element Scanner
- Fast Magic SMS
- Free CamScanner
- Go messages
- Super message
- Great SMS
- Travel Wallpapers
However, other experts warn that affected much more applications and, as a result, millions of users who are unaware that they are already victims of this cyber fraud.
The cyber security company Zscaler, cited by The Razón, published the names of 16 other applications that, according to their analysis, also contain this malicious code:
- Private SMS
- Hummingbird PDF Converter - Photo to PDF
- Style Photo Collage
- Talent Photo Editor - Blur focus
- Paper doc scanner
- All Good PDF Scanner
- Care message
- Part message
- Blue scanner
- Direct messenger
- One Sentence Translator - Multifunctional Translator
- Mint Leaf Message - Your Private Message
- Unique Keyboard - Fancy Fonts & Free Emoticons
- Tangram App Lock
- Desire translate
- Meticulous Scanner
Of course, the recommendation to all its users Andriod is to check if they have any of the above applications installed on their smartphone and delete them immediately, as the fact that they are deleted from the Google Play Store does not imply their automatic uninstallation from their devices, which will have to be done manually by them.
