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Google Play, the official Android software store, has reported the presence of new Android malware known as Fleckpe. Cybercriminals posed it as a genuine program, and it was downloaded more than 620,000 times.
What is Known About the Malware
Fleckpe is a brand-new kind of malware that makes unlawful payments by enrolling individuals in premium services, claims Kaspersky Lab. Similar programs have already been found by academics in the past, including Jocker and Harly.
Criminals profit from unlicensed subscriptions by keeping a portion of the monthly or one-time charge for each subscription as payment. Additionally, they receive all the profits if the attackers run the services themselves.
The Malware has been operating since last year, according to data from Kaspersky Lab researchers, although it was just recently found and first described. The majority of Fleckpe’s victims are located in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Poland, however the virus has spread to other parts of the world even in tiny doses.
Technical Aspects
The aforementioned bundle names were used by 11 Fleckpe Trojan programs published on Google Play as image editors, photo libraries, premium wallpapers, and other things:
- com.impressionism.prozs.app
- com.picture.pictureframe
- com.beauty.slimming.pro
- com.beauty.camera.plus.photoeditor
- com.microclip.vodeoeditor
- com.gif.camera.editor
- com.apps.camera.photos
- com.toolbox.photoeditor
- com.hd.h4ks.wallpaper
- com.draw.graffiti
- com.urox.opixe.nightcamreapro
The hackers might have generated another as of yet undetected apps, thus the real number of installs may be larger, the researchers write in their paper. All of the programs had been taken down from the marketplace by the time our article was released.
Despite the fact that software like Fleckpe is not as serious as spyware or malware that steals data, it can nevertheless result in illegal purchases, the gathering of private data about the owners of compromised machines, and serve as a gateway for more potent malware.
Cybersecurity Measures
Android users are recommended to only obtain applications from reputable sources and be alert to all permissions given during installation in order to protect themselves against such dangers.
If you have even the smallest suspicion that such a Trojan has infiltrated your device, specialists advise uninstalling any suspicious apps and conducting an anti-malware check to get rid of any leftover harmful code that could be lurking inside.