ANDROID phone owners are being warned about “beauty” apps run by scammers – designed to steal your photos, fleece you out of information, and even bombard you with ads for porn.
The apps have been downloaded millions of times, and pose a real risk to anyone who has them installed.
The Google Play Store often winds up hosting dodgy apps – even though it’s supposed to be a safe space for users.
A new report by cybersecurity experts at Trend Micro reveals a host of “malicious apps” that have made their way onto the store.
They damage your phone, and can be especially hard to get rid of.
“A user downloading one of these apps will not immediately suspect that there is anything amiss, until they decide to delete the app,” explained Lorin Wu, a mobile threats analyst at Trend Micro.
For example one of the apps “will hide its icon from the application list, making it more difficult for users to uninstall the app since they will be unable to drag and delete it”.
However, you should still be able to delete the app by going into your phone’s settings and manually finding the app.
Some of the apps then bombard you with ads, to make money for the scammers.
“The app will push several full screen ads when users unlock their devices, including malicious ads (such as fraudulent content and pornography) that will pop up via the user’s browser,” Wu reveals.
“During our analysis, we found a paid online pornography player that was downloaded when clicking the pop up.”
These ads are hard to identify, and can often use nefarious tactics to steal your info.
“None of these apps give any indication that they are the ones behind the ads, thus users might find it difficult to determine where they’re coming from.
“Some of these apps redirect to phishing websites that ask the user for personal information, such as addresses and phone numbers.”
One app will give you the option to win a prize, which you’ll always win on the third try.
But then you’ll be redirected to a form asking for detailed information – which is actually a scam.
Several other apps that “beautify” your selfies were also caught out for potentially stealing your photos.
They promise to make you look more attractive, but actually appear to be a massive con.
“These apps seemingly allow users to ‘beautify’ their pictures by uploading them to the designated server.
“However, instad of getting a final result with the edited photo, the user gets a picture with a fake update prompt in nine different languages.
“The authors can collect the photos uploaded in the app, and possible use them for malicious purposes – for example as fake profile pics in social media.”
Dodgy apps REVEALED
These are the apps experts say show 'indicators of compromise'...
- com.beauty.camera.years.pro – Pro Camera Beauty (1,000,000+ downloads)
- com.cartoon.art.photo.ygy.camera – Cartoon Art Photo (1,000,000+ downloads)
- com.lyrebirdstudio.emoji_camera – Emoji Camera (1,000,000+ downloads)
- art.eff.filter.photo.editor – Artistic effect Filter (500,000+ downloads)
- art.filter.editor.imge – Art Editor (100,000+ downloads)
- com.beauty.camera.project.cloud – Beauty Camera (100,000+ downloads)
- com.selfie.camerapro.pro – Selfie Camera Pro (100,000+ downloads)
- com.camera.beauty.kwok.horizon – Horizon Beauty Camera (100,000+ downloads)
- com.camera.ygysuper.photograph – Super Camera (100,000+ downloads)
- com.effects.art.photo.for.self – Art Effects for Photo (100,000+ downloads)
- com.solidblack.awesome.cartoon.art.pics.photo.editor – Awesome Cartoon Art (100,000+ downloads)
- com.photoeditor.artfilterphoto – Art Filter Photo (50,000+ downloads)
- com.photocorner.artfilter.arteffect.prizma – Art Filter Photo Effcts (10,000+ downloads)
- com.picfix.cartoonphotoeffects – Cartoon Effect (10,000+ downloads)
- com.picsartitude.arteffect – Art Effect (10,000+ downloads)
- com.csmart.photoframelab – Photo Editor (5,000+ downloads)
- com.wallpapers.nuclear.hd.hd3d.best.live.nuclear – Wallpapers HD (5,000+ downloads)
- com.perfectmakeup.magicartfilter.photoeditor.selfiecamera – Magic Art Filter Photo Editor (5,000+ downloads)
- appworld.fillartphotoeditor.technology – Fill Art Photo Editor (1,000+ downloads)
- com.artflipphotoediting – ArtFlipPhotoEditing (1,000+ downloads)
- com.artphoto.artfilter.artpiczone – Art Filter (1,000+ downloads)
- com.photoeditor.cartoonphoto – Cartoon Art Photo (1,000+ downloads)
- com.photoeditor.prismaeffects – Prizma Photo Effect (1,000+ downloads)
- com.cmds.artphotofiltereffect – Cartoon Art Photo Filter (100+ downloads)
- com.latestnewappzone.photoartfiltereditor – Art Filter Photo Editor (100+ downloads)
- com.livewallpaperstudio.pixture – Pixture (100+ downloads)
- app.pixelworlds.arteffect – Art Effect (50+ downloads)
- timepassvideostatus.photoarteffect.cartoonpainteffect – Photo Art Effect (10+ downloads)
- com.techbuzz.cartoonfilter – Cartoon Photo Filter (5+ downloads)
So how do you avoid ending up with one of these apps on your phone?
“Given that many of these malicious apps take great pains to look as legitimate as possible, users should always investigate the legitimacy of an app,” Wu explained.
“One good method of doing this is by checking reviews from other users.
“If the reviews mention any kind of suspicious behaviour, then it might be a good idea to refrain from downloading the app.”
MOST READ IN TECH
In December, we exposed Android clickfraud apps that could drain your battery life.
In November, The Sun reported on dangerous apps that could steal your bank info and send fake texts.
And that same month, we shed light on 35 fake security apps in the Google Play Store.
Have you spotted any online scams recently? Let us know in the comments!
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Link
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/android-warning-over-beauty-apps-that-steal-photos-and-send-you-porn-delete-them-now/
News Photo Android warning over ‘beauty’ apps that steal photos and send you PORN – delete them now
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