Stealthily steals money from your bank account: Android users have been warned about a dangerous virus

It became known that the Joker virus, which attacks Android devices and hides in various applications on Google Play, is back. This malicious program is capable of subscribing a user to payment services without his authorization and emptying bank accounts without his knowledge. Writes about it Entrepreneur.

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This malware was found in eight Play Store apps that Google has blocked.

The Joker malware became known in 2017 for infecting and robbing victims by hiding in various applications. Since then, the Google Play Store's security systems have removed about 1700 malware apps before they were downloaded by users.

In September 2020, the Joker virus was detected in 24 Android apps that were downloaded over 500 times before they were removed. It is estimated that more than 30 countries were affected at the time, including the United States, Brazil and Spain. Through unauthorized subscriptions, hackers could steal up to $ 7 per week per subscription, a figure that has likely increased in recent months.

How the Joker virus works in Android apps

The Joker Trojan virus belongs to a family of malware known as Bread, which aims to hack accounts and authorize transactions without the user's consent.

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Researchers at cybersecurity company Quick Heal Security Lab explain that this virus can inject text messages, contacts, and other information onto an infected smartphone.

What makes this malware more dangerous is its ability to subscribe the affected Android user to paid services, usually the Premium or the most expensive version, without their prior permission.

Initially, applications infected with Joker or other malware from this family carried out fraudulent SMS scams, but then began to attack online payments. These two methods take advantage of the integration of telephone operators with providers to make it easier to pay for services with a mobile bill. Both require verification of the device but not the user, so they manage to automate payments without requiring any user interaction.

“At the end of the month, you risk receiving a big surprise on your bank account or credit card,” Belgian police said, referring to the unknown subscriptions the victim will see at the end of the month.

In fact, people affected by the Joker very often do not know about the theft until they learn the details of their account. This is because the bank is unaware of the apparently “normal” subscription and, as a rule, the costs are so low that they do not show up as unusual movements, so they do not even send a write-off notice to the account holder.

Which Android apps can contain the Joker virus

In this case, the malicious applications that the Google Play Store removed after the Joker virus was detected are:

• Auxiliary message
• Element Scanner
• Fast Magic SMS
• Free CamScanner
• Go messages
• Super message
• Great SMS
• Travel Wallpapers

However, other experts warn that other applications are also affected and, therefore, millions of users do not know that they have already become victims of this cyber fraud.

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Cybersecurity company Zscaler has released the names of 16 other apps that it analyzes 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, Andriod users are advised to check if any of these apps are installed on their smartphone and uninstall them immediately, since the fact that they are removed from the Google Play Store does not automatically mean that they are uninstalled from the devices on which they were downloaded.

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