Fake Cryptocurrency Mining Apps Infect Google Store
These malicious apps have deceived around 5,000 users around the world between July 2020 and July 2021
Trend Micro, a cybersecurity firm, detected more than 120 fake cryptocurrency mining apps after which Google Play Store has taken down 8 of them.
But, there are still dozens of fake cryptocurrency mining apps that are there on Google Play Store and they have been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
Some apps’ names revealed by Trend Micro are Bitfunds, Bitcoin Miner, Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet, Crypto Holic, Daily Bitcoin Rewards, Bitcoin 2021, Minebit Pro, and Ethereum (ETH) – Pool Mining Cloud.
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The cybersecurity firm explained that these mining platforms fooled users by convincing them to register for mining different cryptocurrencies. The average monthly subscription fee is about $15.
Trend Micro confirmed the Google Play Store removed all such malicious applications as soon as the findings were reported to it.
However, another concerning point that the firm raise is the presence of dozens of such undetectable apps, nearly 120, under the search keyword ‘cloud mining’ on Google Play Store.
These fake miners have deceived around 5,000 users around the world between July 2020 and July 2021.
The cybersecurity firm also learned during the investigation that some fake mining apps pushed the users to click on ads. They were tricked that watching displayed ads on the applications will spur mining speed.
Some fake apps also featured invitations to friends for unlocking withdrawal but they were never given.
