New Android Virus Creates A Fake Marketplace To Access Your Phone

Seriously if some of the guys creating these fake apps put their minds to making legit apps thy could probably do some killer work because they deploy some pretty ingenious solutions. The latest Android threat is an ad that links you to a site that looks like the Android Market so you think you are downloading a legitimate app but what you’re really doing is going to a third-party site and downloading it and of course, once installed you’re in a bad place.

When a user clicks those ads, which promote programs with names like Sexy Pics or Battery Saver, he or she is taken to a website that’s designed to look like the Android Market, but in fact downloads the app without any interaction. Then the user is directed to the downloads folder to install the app, which then silently sends text messages to a pay-per-text number, racking up charges at the victim’s expense.

They do note that if you are a savvy user you would notice that this downloads to the ‘download’ folder and that’s not what a regular app install would do but I’m not sure that nuance will get picked up by a lot of users. So as usual…buyer beware.

The complete details are here.

via Forbes