Android owners warned to remove five fake apps that are quietly looting bank accounts
ANDROID owners have been urged to check their phones for five sketchy apps that can take control of devices and raid banking apps.
The five seemingly innocent apps have already been removed from the Google Play Store after experts raised the alarm.
But if you already have them installed on your Android smartphone, you may need to manually uninstall them yourself if you have disabled Google Play Protect.
The group includes a hidden banking trojan called Anatsa, which previously targeted users in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom.
Once the app is on your phone, a hacker can take over and perform tasks without you knowing.
The most harmful thing they can do is access personal information and make payments through your banking apps.
The apps are believed to have been downloaded between 150,000 and 200,000 times before being banned by Google.
According to ThreatFabric's findings, they range from phone cleaners to PDF readers.
The apps to be aware of and uninstall are:
- Phone Cleaner – Explorer
- PDF Viewer – File Explorer
- PDF Reader – Viewer and Editor
- Phone Cleaner: Explorer
- PDF Reader: File Manager
Most read in Phones and gadgets
Google told Beeping computer that “all apps identified in the report have been removed from Google Play.”
“Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is enabled by default on Android devices with Google Play Services,” the company said.
“Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even if those apps come from sources outside of Play.”
How to protect yourself from hackers
Hackers are constantly looking for new ways to access our devices.
Fortunately, there are ways to keep them away.
Make sure Google Play Protect is turned on
This is on by default, but if you've disabled it you might want to rethink it.
Google Play Protect automatically warns you about suspicious apps they uninstalled, provided they were downloaded from the Google Play Store
Be careful when downloading outside the Google Play Store
Android is open so you can download from anywhere, not just from the Google Play Store.
While this gives you some freedom, you need to be extra careful about what you download.
Check reviews
Bad apps can get past the checks and end up in the Google Play Store.
Always check the reviews before downloading an app to see what others are saying about it.