New malware for Android infected more than 600,000 mobile phones

new Malware that can unauthorized subscribe users to premium services may have infected more than 600,000 Android devices4 As reported to Kaspersky on Thursday. Named “Fleckpe”, it has been active on the Google Play Store since 2022 and provides significant profits to scammers.

Discovered by the experts of the cyber security company, the virtual plague used the following strategy: disguised as legal practice To reach victims The malicious program started to act without the owner noticing after it was installed on the mobile phone.

According to the report, Fleckpe gathered information from the device and used the data to subscribe the phone to paid subscription services. The method involved stopping device notifications and preventing the owner from seeing the registration confirmation on the platforms.

In this way, the person can only discover the unauthorized payments while checking the decrease in the credit balance of the line, without any expenditure or accessing the monthly invoice. Most of the victims reside in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Poland, but there are traces of malware action all over the world.

infected apps

Image editors and wallpapers are some of the categories of apps that carry disguised malware and can be downloaded as legitimate programs from the Play Store. Here is the list of infected apps, according to Kaspersky:

• com.impressionism.prozs.app
• com.pic.picture frame
• com.beauty.slimming.pro
• com.beauty.camera.plus.photoeditor
• com.microclip.vodeoeditor
• com.gif.camera.editor
• com.apps.camera.photos
• com.toolbox.photo editor
• com.hd.h4ks.wallpaper
• com.draw.graffiti
• com.urox.opixe.nightcamreapro

If you have one or more of these apps installed on your phone, advice is to remove them immediately. Additionally, run a security check by scanning the internal memory for traces of malicious code hidden on the device using your trusted antivirus.

the company stated These 11 malicious apps can no longer be downloaded from the official Android store. However, there may be other applications containing hidden malware that are not yet detected in the Play Store and require more attention when downloading and installing programs on the smartphone.