Thanks to the success of ‘The Squid Game’, cybercriminals are taking advantage to create fake applications of South Korean production and infect the Android devices of users who download them.
As reported by Lukas Stefanko, an ESET threat analysis specialist, these cybercriminals have managed to place a malicious application on Google Play called the same as the Netflix series and with the same image. Although it has already been withdrawn, users can still download it through unofficial channels.
To commit the scam, they have supplanted the name of a company that specializes in creating mobile wallpapers for series and movies. This has led many users to fall into the trap and download it believing that it is a verified ‘app’.
In addition, the fact that there are files with the icon of the famous game doll once it has been installed on the device has convinced many users that it is a verified application.
A KIND OF ‘MALWARE’ CALLED ‘JOKER’
Stefanko has classified this ‘malware’ as ‘Joker’, which is one of the most common and dangerous banking Trojans out there. It is malicious ‘software’ that has been known since 2017.
This is responsible for modifying the telephone billing services to make charges, authorize monetary operations and subscribe to payment services without the consent and without the knowledge of the victim.
Since there is evidence of ‘Joker’, Google has removed from its Play Store download application about 1,700 applications of these characteristics, as indicated by the cybersecurity company ESET in a statement.
