A malicious app that supposedly downloads wallpapers, videos, and music to Android devices has been spotted on Google Play and has been distributed for over a year.
The app is an SMS Trojan that asks for your permission to start sending text and multimedia messages to download files. Before installation, it informs the user that charges may apply.
However, there was no indication that the app was working. Nathan Collier from Malwarebytes, who tested the Thai Fun Content app (package name “com.FREE_APPS_435.android”), reports that the charges continue on a regular basis as the user is actually subscribed to a premium service. So the malware victims pay $0.37 every day.
While the amount may seem small, multiply x 1,000 and the scammers will earn 370 per day. There is no data on the number of installations of the application. However, Google has had the malware available for more than a year, through Google Play. So the chances of the number of victims exceeding 1,000 are very high.
Collier reported that the malicious app was last updated on August 20, 2013, and claims that it was added to Google Play on the same date. As of November 13, 2014, the malicious app was still active on Google Play.
Google appears to have finally removed the app just today. The fact that it was “served” by Google Play for a year shows that the company’s automated security checks are not effective.
