Users of Android smartphones and tablets have been urged to check installed apps after a new app from the Google Play Store was discovered with money-stealing malware, RT reports.
Security experts have issued a warning about the TeaBot malware, which is rapidly spreading around the world and is designed to steal passwords for bank accounts.
TeaBot was first discovered at the beginning of 2021, but is now experiencing a revival, and the team at Cleafy say they have discovered a new app associated with TeaBot and to make matters worse, this QR Code reader, called QR Code & Barcode Scanner, was available for download from the Google Play store .
Once installed, the app uses a clever trick to infect the phone by asking users to install an innocent-looking update.
However, unlike legitimate apps that perform updates through the official Google Play Store, this software comes via an unofficial source that helps it bypass Google’s strict security measures to protect Android users from malware like TeaBot.
This is how malware gets into your system, and from there the malware takes control and starts trying to get various permissions, including the option to view and control the screen and view and perform actions without the owner’s knowledge.
If these permissions are granted, they are then used to retrieve sensitive information such as login credentials, SMS messages and two-factor authentication codes from the device screen. What makes this latest attack even more frightening is that the QR Code & Barcode Scanner app appears to be working fine and received Really good reviews from Google Play users.
This makes spotting the problem more difficult because many Google Play Store users will be completely oblivious to what the app can do.
And if you think you have installed this app, it is a good idea to remove it and check all the permissions that it might grant without your knowledge.
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