Until now, you could find gambling apps on both App Store and Google Play.
However, both giants decided to put a measure in this industry to prevent overcharging, abuse and violation of local laws, which differ from country to country.
This does not mean that hackers who entice users to download and install gambling applications have stopped being out there , quite the opposite, as malicious users are never discouraged
Researchers from Trend Micro said they have found "hundreds" of fake apps on both stores, which were being offered as legitimate apps before their identities were revealed.
For example, an app was found that described itself as a hub for holiday information, while in reality it redirected users to a lottery system. Several wine, weather and entertainment apps were also found to be malicious
Some of the apps, unfortunately, were found in the Top 100 lists and had been rated over 100,000 times, revealing how entrenched they were in the repositories.
The apps were disguised as genuine content and had infiltrated both stores, and could also be downloaded outside of the App Store and Google Play. In the case of Android, users would be directed to an APK, while in the case of iOS, those who downloaded were redirected to the App Store.
Once downloaded and installed, the gambling apps initially behaved normally. However, each app contained a "switch" that the scammers could use to activate the real content, which was usually gambling.
Trend Micro believes that this API was disabled during the examination processes, allowing them to pass the inspection.
A connection between some of the malicious apps was found through a command-and-control (C2) server. The C2 controls at least three of the apps, and when researchers tried to obtain it, they accidentally turned off the “switch” that loaded the malicious content into the apps, causing the apps to behave normally.
«During our research, these apps appear to use only WebView to load a gambling website and not trigger any malicious activity against the device», says Trend Micro.
Apple and Google have already been informed of the findings and each fake app has been removed from the App Store and Google Play.
