Remove these apps from your phone immediately

Harmful applications have once again been available through the Google Play Store. Adobe Stock / AOP

Researchers from the information security company McAfee have found 15 Android apps for dangerous malware. It says that applications from the Google Play Store have been installed no less than 8 million times in total.

The malware in question is called Spyloan, which has been tormenting Android users since 2020. It is linked to so-called manipulation scams, in which those who have installed the application on their phone are shown attractively good loan offers, which are promised to offer large sums of loan quickly and with minimal requirements.

Applications infected with the Spyloan flaw are known to have used the name and brand of genuine financial companies to fool users. If the user takes up the offer and gives their information, the fraudsters can then blackmail them with outrageous interest charges.

McAfee says that the applications found have been installed mainly in South America, Asia and Africa. They have also been advertised on social media platforms.

According to McAfee, the number of Android devices infected with Spyloan has grown rapidly this year. In the third quarter of the year, 75 percent more devices containing Spyloan were in use than in the previous quarter.

Be careful what rights you grant

McAfee reminds us that malware like Spyloan may also request suspiciously broad access rights to the phone, which should also ring alarm bells.

If you give the malware the rights it requests, they can spy on phone usage very extensively. The applications are known to have requested access to at least the phone’s camera, microphone, contact information, calendar and even call data.

Victims have said that after accepting the loan offer, they even received death threats over the phone as a result of late payments, in addition to which they were demanded exorbitant interest rates. The victims’ relatives have also received calls. In addition, there have been attempts to blackmail victims with their own personal information.

Even if the criminals do not use the collected information directly as above, it may be passed on or sold on to be used in other scams or crimes.

Uninstall these apps

The applications listed below have already been removed from the official application stores, but if one of them is found on your phone, it should be removed immediately. The name of the installation package in parentheses.

McAfee’s research was reported earlier Mobiili.fi.