10. July 2021

This article has been indexed from E Hacking News – Latest Hacker News and IT Security News

Researchers stated that fraudulent crypto mining applications available for download on Google Play have scammed more than 93,400 people so far, taking at least $350,000. 

The applications, which are divided into “BitScam” and “CloudScam” variants, market themselves as delivering bitcoin mining services for a charge, according to Lookout. 

“These apps were able to fly under the radar because they don’t actually do anything malicious,” said Ioannis Gasparis, a mobile application security researcher at Lookout, in an analysis released on Wednesday. 

“They are simply shells set up to attract users caught up in the cryptocurrency craze and collect money for services that don’t exist. Purchasing goods or services online always requires a certain degree of trust — these scams prove that cryptocurrency is no exception.” 

In addition to charging for the “apps,” the fraudsters push extra services and upgrades that users may buy within the apps, either directly by transferring Bitcoin to the creators’ wallets (the BitScam version) or through the Google Play in-app billing system (the CloudScam version). On the official Google Play store, there were 25 similar apps, with a total of 170 when third-party app shops are included. Although the crypto mining applications have been deleted from Google Play, there are still hundreds more accessible for side-loading, according to Gasparis.