Android malware on play store targets users by using a shoe give away scam

The hackers behind the campaign have promised a free pair of shoes if ordered from the malicious app.

Researchers have reported on a malware campaign in which fraudsters uploaded apps on the Play Store which promised users a free pair of shoes within 14 days of ordering them from within the app.

To make the campaign more luring and attractive the hackers have given the users a set of choices that they could make for their shoes. However, the shoes never got delivered and the apps were delivering ad-malware dubbed as TERRACOTTA.

This resulted in over 65,000 ad impressions with 5,550 spoofed apps and the total number of advertising bids at 2.4 billion as of July 2020. Researches have coordinated with Google resulting in the apps being removed resulting in the malware’s traffic decreasing by a large extent.

NPAV recommends users to stay careful and keep a check on these campaigns. Users should always check proper reviews and rating for these apps and their campaigns. One should only interact with such campaigns if there is a surety and sense of proper security in them.

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