CYBER-EXPERTS have warned Android phone owners to delete malicious apps that have been installed millions of times.
More than 100 rogue apps have been identified, which hijack your phone, use up its processing power, and drain its battery life.
The apps are cleverly disguised to look normal, and pose as games, prank apps, code scanners and photo editors.
But they all contain a hidden secret: dodgy hacker code that’s been branded ‘Soraka’ by security experts.
These apps quietly operate a type of scam known as “ad fraud”, according to cyber-experts at White Ops.
“The White Ops Threat Intelligence team recently identified 100+ malicious apps, with more than 4.6million downloads, performing ad fraud,” the White Ops report explained.
Once you’ve installed the app, it will quietly run advertisements in the background of your phone.
These ads run when your phone is locked or unlocked, but you’ll never actually see them.
Instead, they hijack your phone’s processor and put serious drain on your battery life.
And all the time, the ads are generating money for the tech-savvy crooks who masterminded the scam.
One of the hacked downloads is the Best Fortunte Explorer app, published by JavierGentry80.
The app was released on September 9, 2019, and has been downloaded more than 170,000 times.
Here's the full list...
Typically, Google will remove offending apps from the Google Play Store after discovering their dodgy antics.
But that won’t delete the app from your phone.
You’ll still need to manually uninstall the apps by going into your phone’s settings.
The best advice is to avoid downloading dodgy apps in the first place.
Try to stick to trusted developers who have created lots of popular apps.
Avoid apps with very few downloads, or a large number of negative reviews.
And if you suspect an app is doing something nefarious on your phone, delete it immediately.
We’ve asked Google for comment on this story and will update it with any response.
In other news, millions of Android phones have apps set to quietly charge you £150.
Experts have also warned over dodgy Android virus detectors that don’t work.
And there are 15 popular Android apps that allow hackers to “secretly use your phone”.
Do you trust Google to keep your phone safe? Let us know in the comments!
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