Cybercriminals always seek to deliver the biggest blow possible with their cyberattacks, which is why they usually have targets where they know there are many potential victims, making Android devices one of their favorite targets of attack.
McAfee researchers have now identified up to 15 Android applications belonging to a SpyLoan type scam, that is, monetary loans, which through social engineering techniques trick users into providing confidential information and granting additional permissions to mobile applications, as explained on their official blog.
The applications, which together have accumulated more than 8 million downloadsoperate in Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile), Asia (India, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam) and Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda) and are promoted in fraudulent ads on social networks. They offer fast and flexible loans, sometimes with low interest, that require few requirements.
Among the apps are “Préstamo Seguro-Rápido”, “Préstamo Rápido-Credit Easy” from Colombia, “Get Sol-Dinero Rápido1”, “IPréstamos: Rápido Crédito”, “Huayna Money – Préstamo Rápido” and “RupiahKilat-Dana cair” , all of them with thousands and some even with more than a million downloads.
The promotion, in addition, uses techniques that generate urgency in users, such as countdowns or special promotions. They also resort to an image reminiscent of legitimate financial institutions, to gain credibility and facilitate deception.
With these applications, cybercriminals obtain sensitive data from their victimswhich they extract from the device and send to a command and control server, that they sell to third parties or use for blackmail, including sexual extortion with images created with Artificial Intelligence.
The loan grants less amount of money than agreed, and raises the interest rate, forcing the victim to pay exorbitant amounts in a very short time. To this They add hidden payments that you have not authorized.
McAfee also points out the emotional and psychological damage that this cyber scam doesa result of the aggressive tactics and public humiliation to which victims are subjected. Among other experiences, they report threatening calls, the use of photographs and data to intimidate them, and access to the device’s contacts to send harassing messages to those close to them.
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