A fake app that tricked more than millions of Samsung users has been detected and finally pulled down, but not before it managed to extort money and fool unsuspecting users.
The app, called Updates for Samsung – Android Update Versions, offered updates for Samsung devices, and also showed numerous ads on devices.
People who have installed this app already on their phones are directed to uninstall the same at priority, and avoid being a victim to such scams.
The app has also been removed by Google Play Store and is no longer available for downloads.
How did this app manipulate people into paying money? Who brought the app to Google’s notice? Read on to know the whole scoop!
Fake App Tricks Millions of People and Extorts Money
An app was available on the Google Play Store that seemed very official but was nothing but a scam on the inside. The app offered Android updates for Samsung devices and had a very deceitful name as well: Updates for Samsung – Android Update Versions.
It claimed to offer users free updates as well as paid updates of the Samsung software, whereas, Samsung has asserted its users that the company does not take any payment for providing updates on their devices.
The app, once installed, often demanded fees for downloading and installing the latest updates on the Samsung device. It also showed too many ads, and asked users for payment for an ad-free experience.
More than 10 million users installed the app on their phone, believing it to be official, and were successfully duped by it.
How did the app work? The app offered a free download but only at a limited speed of 56 KBps, and that too indicated a failure after taking four hours. Then the app would ask the users to buy the premium annual subscription at $34.99 (around Rs 2,500) for a faster download.
Reports also say that the app offered SIM card unlocking for any network operator at $19.99.
App Detected To Be Fake By CSIS Security Group
The app was found out to be fake by the CSIS Security Group and they promptly asked Google to take down the app swiftly. Google paid heed to this warning and the app is no longer available for downloads on Play Store anymore.
The malware analysts and researchers assured that the app didnt do any malicious harm to the phone, but usurped money in illegal ways from those who downloaded it.
They have alerted Samsung users to uninstall the app as soon as possible, assuring that this mistake could happen with anyone. Aleksejs Kuprins, malware analyst at the CSIS Security Group said, “The user can feel a bit lost about the [system] update procedure. Hence [they] can make a mistake of going to the official application store to look for system update.”
If you have downloaded a similar app on your phone, make sure you uninstall it as soon as possible.
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