McAfee security researchers have discovered dozens of Android apps infected with malware in the Google Play Store.
Researchers report that the apps were infected with the malware Android/Clicker.G which appears to target only Russian-speaking users.
Most of these apps had over 5,000 downloads, while some of them earned very good reviews.
Once these apps entered Android devices, the security firm reports that the malware waited up to six hours before triggering any malicious behavior.
McAfee classifies Android/Clicker.G as adware, and researchers report that every two minutes, the malware displays a pop-up window with annoying ads or asks users to download a system update or other applications from the update-SYS-android[.]Com service.
The crooks behind this malware didn't bother to cover up their intentions, because security researchers who examined the source code from these apps report that the malicious payload was not encrypted to protect it from prying eyes.
All of the apps appear to have been uploaded to the Google Play Store recently, and some were submitted by a user named goasez.
McAfee did not say how the scammers managed to bypass Google's app review process and the automated Bouncer scanner, but the company immediately listed all the apps it found infected with Android/Clicker.G.
So currently goasez's profile on the Play Store does not contain any apps, which means Google removed them.
