- Bitdefender found more than 300 Android applications used to show unwanted ads
- Until now almost all applications have been eliminated from Play Store
- Some of the applications even tried to steal confidential data.
Hundreds of Android applications, installed millions of times on Google Play Store, were part of a large -scale advertising fraud campaign that showed unwanted ads and tried to steal confidential data from the victims, experts warned.
Bitdefender cybersecurity researchers, who also accredited Ias threolying, said they discovered at least 331 applications that were available through Google Play Store that, cumulatively, accumulated more than 60 million downloads, mainly in older Android variants (Android 13 and more).
Applications were imitating simple utility applications such as QR scanners, expenses monitoring applications, health applications, upholsian paper applications and others.
Protect your Android phone
Most applications were first activated on Google Play in the third quarter of 2024, and when Bitdefender’s investigation was completed, only 15 remained active. The vast majority of the victims are located in Brazil, followed by the United States, Mexico, Türkiye and South Korea.
When the victims downloaded one of the applications, they first hide their launcher icons (something that is only possible in previous versions of Android). Applications retained “some functionality”, but can show ads out of context about other applications in the foreground. Some try to collect user credentials, credit card data and other information.
Some applications can start without user interaction, something that should not be possible even on Android 13.
While eventually all applications will be eliminated from Play Store, people who have them installed on their devices remain at risk. If your Android smartphone is acting strange (delaying, showing ads in different ads, overheating, spending data while inactive), be sure to delete any unwanted application, or those that you are not actively using.
In addition, if possible, be sure to use the latest version of Android. At the moment, that is Android 15, with the next iteration scheduled for later in 2025.
