All Android Owners Warned About Copycat Popular App That Could Silently Wipe Thousands From Your Bank Account

ANDROID owners around the world should be wary of a copycat app masquerading as McAfee antivirus software.

A McAfee scam campaign was first discovered in 2021, however, the same ploy has since ripped off thousands of unsuspecting victims.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) recently said it discovered several cases of attempted breaches of online bank accounts by the copycat app.

The agency said text messages to Android owners written in Finnish instruct recipients to call a number.

They can, for example, go online to bank and transfer money… In one case, the victim of the crime lost 95 thousand euros in the fraud.

Finnish police

The messages are fake messages, appearing as if they are being sent by banks or payment service providers.

Those who call end up calling a scammer, who instructs victims to install a McAfee app “for protection.”

But those who follow the instructions are actually installing malware on their phones – leaving all of their accounts at risk.

“Fraudsters use software to take control of the entire phone,” says Finnish police explained.

“They can, for example, go online to bank and transfer money.

“In one case, the victim of the crime lost 95 thousand euros in fraud.”

This is not antivirus software but malware to be installed on the phone.

Traffic

“According to reports received by the Cyber ​​Security Center, targets are encouraged to download a McAfee application,” said Traficom he writes in a statement.

“The download link offers a .apk app hosted outside of the app store for Android devices.

“However, this is not antivirus software, but malware to be installed on the phone.”

OP Financial Group, one of Finland’s largest financial services providers, also issued an alert on its website about the threat campaign.

TROJAN HORSE

Cybersecurity experts from NCC Group’s Fox-IT team first detected the McAfee copycat banking trojan in early 2021.

A banking trojan is malware designed specifically to steal a victim’s financial information.

The campaign exclusively targets Android devices.

Cybercriminals rely heavily on the ability to impersonate legitimate applications and software in an effort to steal data and hard-earned money from victims.

In early April, experts explained how hackers had given the copycat a sophisticated makeover, leaving Android owners more vulnerable than ever.

Although Finnish authorities have not determined the type of malware, the attacks closely resemble the campaign recently reported by Fox-IT analysts.

AND NOW?

Google is generally good at weeding out and removing risky apps from its platform, but a small number go unnoticed.

Make sure Google’s Play Protect anti-malware tool is active, as it can protect against this specific type of malware, known as Vultur.

Always check app reviews – as these could be warnings warning against downloading specific apps, especially if there aren’t many reviews for a supposedly popular app.

If you think you have downloaded the dubious McAfee copycat – delete it immediately.

You must also restore the infected Android device to factory settings – which erases all data and apps.

You should also contact your bank immediately so they can stop any unapproved money transfers.

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