In today’s technological world we rely on computers for just about everything. It would be safe to say, perhaps, that they have become integral to life as we know it. And this, of course, is one reason hackers out there continue to make malicious programs that can attempt to steal information or money from web users all over the world.
But over the past few years we have seen such attacks as these move from home computers to mobile devices and, more specifically, Android devices. Now, this is not to say, of course, that Android devices are bad. However, because open source software is far more vulnerable to security cracks and other faults it is easy to see why hackers might target the Android system.
And sure enough, tech experts have found a new Trojan-style program that can steal the payment data from your Android device and try to stop you from alerting your bank.
According to online/mobile security vendor Symantec, there is a new “call-barring” feature in the Android Fakebank B family of malware. When a hacker includes this function with the malware, it can delay the user’s ability to cancel any payment from credit and debit cards that have been compromised by the hack.
Android Fakebank, of course, was originally discovered in 2013 as an application which pretends to be a legitimate Android app but, instead, tries to steal the user’s money. This particular malware program works by first scanning the user’s phone for particular banking apps and, when successful, then prompts the user to delete them and “reinstall” them. However, the user doesn’t know that they are really installing malicious versions of the same apps.
And when the user installs the new malicious versions of what thought were legitimate banking apps, the Fakebank programs steals information. However, this latest Android Fakebank B goes further than just collecting financial data. Android Fakebank B monitors your phone calls. If the user attempts to make a phone call to a bank’s customer service line, then, the Trojan virus will cancel the call.
Symantec says that users have had to use email or make a call from another phone in order to notify their banks.
Fortunately, this new Trojan program has only been found isolated in Russia and South Korea. Of course, digital media and banking experts continue to advise against downloading any apps from less trustworthy sources and that all users avoid downloading any [questionable] third party apps.
