Cryptocurrencies continue to grow in popularity, but as interest increases, so does the creativity of scammers who want to take advantage of cultural change to rip people off. According to one recent report from the Trend Micro cybersecurity team, there are now dozens of fake mining and encryption applications in the Google Play Store trick users into paying for fake services like mining and cloud storage.
The report calls for eight applications in particular:
- Bitcoin 2021
- Bitcoin Miner: cloud mining
- Bitcoin (BTC): pool mining cloud portfolio
- BitFunds: cryptographic cloud mining
- Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining
- Daily Bitcoin Rewards: Cloud-Based Mining System
- Ethereum (ETH): pool mining cloud
- MineBit Pro – Cryptography and btc cloud mining
Most of these applications hid one of the same two false mining applications: any Trend Micro tagged “AndroidOS_FakeMinerPay” or “AndroidOS_FakeMinerAd”: That deceives users into paying for fake cloud mining services, usually with a recurring monthly fee of $ 15. Actually, none of the applications has actually extracted or paid cryptocurrencies to users.
Some also included paid ads and additional purchases in the app, and at least two of the apps — Crypto Holic and Daily Bitcoin Rewards — were premium apps that users had to purchase to download them.
Google withdrew these apps from the Google Play Store after the Trend Micro report. Applications removed from the list will be disabled and deleted from all devices downloaded, but it is recommended that you confirm that they have been deleted from your Android phone if you have downloaded any of the applications listed above.
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There are even more fake cryptographic applications
Unfortunately, even after these bans (i From Google own review cryptography policies)Trend Micro researchers claim that there are still more than 120 fraudulent cryptographic applications available in the Play Store right now. Some have been downloaded by more than 100,000 users. And these applications will not be called up or removed until it is proven that they are in fact committing some form of cryptographic fraud.
As we remind you every time, one of these the story surfaces of malicious applications, be sure to thoroughly check each software you download. Stick to familiar apps and developers and be sure to read the ratings and review—included those of trusted sites like Google Play Store. It is worth doing a quick internet searchtoo or even ask for a second opinion on one reliable discussion forum.
Still, malicious developers will work to prevent their applications from looking legitimate. Don’t pay for any special apps, services, or features unless you’re sure they’re real. If in doubt, don’t release payment information or personal data. And if you’re already paying for an app that claims to offer cloud mining services but haven’t seen any returns, that means it’s probably fake. Please delete the app and report it immediately.
[Cointelegraph]