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Google just banned 8 dangerous apps – Check your phone right now!
The pandemic has caused financial hardships across the globe, and people are seeking to supplement their income. People on the fence about investing are treading into the stock market for the first time, while others are following the cryptocurrency hype caused by social media and public figures.
You must be careful when dealing with any financial venture. Due diligence, research and patience are important, but there are outside factors you have to watch out for as well. Scammers are aware of the crypto boom and are waiting to pounce. Tap or click here to read about the discovery of 170 crypto scam apps.
Even as stores remove malicious crypto apps, more are appearing all the time. We’ll give you the latest on a recent discovery of this malicious software and some tips on avoiding them. We also have an exciting tool that can help you get started with cryptocurrency.
We’ve seen this before
People with little or no experience in investing want to jump on the crypto bandwagon, and scammers are there to accommodate them. One scheme involved a fake Apple App Store complete with bogus banking and trading apps.
Victims who downloaded these apps were taken to fake sites where they could enter personal and financial information. Tap or click here for the full story.
One security firm discovered hundreds of malicious iOS and Android apps stealing money. These apps imitated legitimate banking and investing services and even copied their logos. They were shared via dating apps of all things. Tap or click here to check out how this was done.
No signs of slowing down
Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro released a report detailing a new type of crypto app scam. The team found eight apps in the Google Play Store that advertise cloud mining. In a legitimate case, users could rent cloud mining computers and take a share of what’s mined.
The malicious apps lure victims into paying for mining services that don’t exist, so they don’t get anything in return. There are subscriptions (with average monthly fees of $15) and fees to bump up the mining rate (ranging from $15 to $190), but again, there’s nothing actually happening.
Two of the apps themselves were paid apps that cost $6 and $12 to download, respectively. The following is a list of the malicious apps:
- BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining
- Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining
- Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet
- Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining
- Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System
- Bitcoin 2021
- MineBit Pro – Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner
- Ethereum (ETH) – Pool Mining Cloud
Google was informed of the malicious apps and they have been removed. However, there are still apps like this in the store, and some have been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
Here are some tips to spot malicious apps such as these:
- Read the apps’ reviews and pay close attention to the 1-star reviews.
- Enter a false crypto wallet address. If the app appears to be working properly with a fake wallet, it’s a malicious app.
- Restart the app your phone during the mining process. If you see the counter reset to zero, it’s not legitimate.
- Free withdrawals indicate something is wrong.
You want to make sure you don’t have these apps on your device. On your phone, open Google Play and tap the profile icon. Tap Manage apps & devices > Installed. Tap Uninstall next to any suspicious apps you may have.
Check out Kim’s crypto eBook
Investing in cryptocurrency is a complicated and risky venture. Crypto is very volatile and there are countless opinions out there as more people get into it. Wouldn’t it be great to have some advice and guidance you can trust? We’re here to help!
Kim Komando’s Cryptocurrency 101 eBook will get you started on your investment journey, including tips on buying and storing digital currency and how to keep hackers and scammers away.
Keep reading
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Tags: Apple, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, income, investing, malicious software, pandemic, public figures, research, scammers, social media, stock market
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