Millions.. make that billions of Android users globally are being alerted to a frightening and costly malware attack to one or more of your bank accounts.
Here’s how the scam works
Hackers have found a way to install malware on phones that fake being powered off. The cyber criminals turn your display to zero brightness to make it appear dark. Then they turn off notifications so that victims never see what happens next.
These cyber crooks take over your phone remotely allowing them to type, tap, edit and change anything they see as they were you holding your phone.
Next, they deploy monitoring in the background collecting what you type when you visit apps and sites like your bank. You will never see that they swipe your most preciously held pin codes that unleash your complete financial balances.
Experts at Threat Fabric that identified the attack dubbed Octo is already spreading in the wild. The malware lives on your device committing fraud and accessing banking controls.
On-Device Fraud (ODF)
This refers to an app that contains malware you often never see that once installed can control other apps and your entire phone. It’s like handing a remote control of your phone to criminals.
An app named Fast Cleaner billing itself as a clean-up utility meant to help, instead was found to contain the Octo malware.
Worse is another example of how unsafe Android can be as Google let 50,000 contaminated downloads poison others before removing it from the Google Play Store.
This is a reminder that you cannot rely on Google, Apple or any tech giant to fully watch out for your safety and security.
Get strong protection for all of your devices
Now more than ever it is important to have good antivirus protection and security on all of your devices. See my review of the best antivirus protection software and apps of 2022 including the top pick TotalAV.
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