Tricky apps download a digital shark onto your phone

BY KERRY TOMLINSON, AMPERE NEWS

What makes you want to download an app? Watch out for social media posts or ads touting phone tools that might do more harm than good.

Researchers say digital sharks are finding their way onto official app stores and onto people's phones. Here's how to avoid these dangerous waters so you don't get bitten.

Watch here:

Sea Monsters

Mister Phone Cleaner might sound like a helpful app. But there's something lurking below the surface: Sharkbot. It's a malware — malicious software — that can take a bite out of your bank account, according to Fox-IT.

Google warned about Sharkbot's unsavory tricks in its August 2023 threat report. It poses as an app like Mister Phone Cleaner, claiming it can clean up the files on your phone, boost your phone speed, and extend your battery life.

Google says it checks out the apps before they go to the google play store for you to download. Apps like this one pass the test because, at first, they are indeed harmless.

But once you install it, you can find yourself in deep water.

Fake Update

Researchers say the app then tells you that you need to update it, not through the Google Play store update system, but manually, with your approval.

If you approve and hit 'update,' the app can download the Sharkbot malware onto your phone.

Sharkbot then waits for you to go to your bank site, according to researchers. It shows you a fake bank screen, steals your password, and intercepts text messages from the bank with your special login code.

The malware can hit buttons and type out numbers, just like you would, and sends your money to the cyber attackers.

Lurkers

Sharkbot has surfaced in a number of apps on Google Play over the last two years, malware analysts say.

Researchers from Fox-IT, Cleafy, Check Point, ThreatFabric, and Bitdefender have reported on Sharkbot’s development.

Here are some of the shark-tainted apps that have appeared:

When Google gets the reports of malware, the company will remove the apps from the Play store for violating the rules. For example, developers are not allowed to update apps any other way except the official Google play update mechanism.

But these devious apps often show up on non-Google app stores, a good reason to stay away from apps on these third-party sites.

What to do?

Researcher Alberto Segura with Fox-IT gives this advice:

Be wary of apps from the Google Play store that ask you to install updates manually instead of through the official Google Play system.
Avoid installing apps that claim to be cleaners or antivirus from companies that are not well-known, since many of the Sharkbot apps use cleaners or antivirus as cover.
And overall, install as few apps on your phone as possible — only ones you really need — to lower your risk of shark attack.

We would add that you should always read the reviews for an app before downloading. Read the negative ones first because attackers can easily post fake reviews. And if there are no reviews, you would be wise to wait.

So far, we've seen no reports of Sharkbot in iPhone apps. But other scam apps have appeared on the Apple Store, so iPhone owners are not immune.

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