Users of mobile devices running Google's Android operating system may have to think twice and check their math before downloading and installing the popular WhatsApp application.
Panda Security said perpetrators of the new attack used advertising on Facebook to trick victims into downloading installing rogue apps.
"Cyber-criminals are always trying to attract people’s attention in order to carry out their crimes. So it should be no surprise that they have now found a combined way of using Facebook (the world’s largest social network), WhatsApp (the leading text messaging program for smartphones, recently bought by Facebook) and Android (the most popular operating system for mobile devices) to defraud users," it said.
Victims who access Facebook from an Android mobile device will see a "suggested post" advertising tools for WhatsApp.
Those who click on the post will be redirected to a page resembling Google Play.
Check math
But Panda Security said users should check their numbers: the app has a score of 4.5 but the number of stars is 3.5.
"You can see that the score is calculated on the basis of the votes from 35,239 users. Yet if you add up the number of votes that appear on the right, the total is 44,060 votes," it added.
Careful users can then detect the page is "really a Web page designed to look like the Play Store, so users think they are in a trusted site," it added.Another sign that something is fishy is that the browser address bar is hidden at all times.Victims risk downloading an app that calls a premium rate SMS service that can drain their load.
Also, Panda noted the malware hides messages from the number 22365, a warning SMS to users who have activated this kind of premium service. — VC, GMA News
Panda Security said perpetrators of the new attack used advertising on Facebook to trick victims into downloading installing rogue apps.
"Cyber-criminals are always trying to attract people’s attention in order to carry out their crimes. So it should be no surprise that they have now found a combined way of using Facebook (the world’s largest social network), WhatsApp (the leading text messaging program for smartphones, recently bought by Facebook) and Android (the most popular operating system for mobile devices) to defraud users," it said.
Victims who access Facebook from an Android mobile device will see a "suggested post" advertising tools for WhatsApp.
Those who click on the post will be redirected to a page resembling Google Play.
Check math
But Panda Security said users should check their numbers: the app has a score of 4.5 but the number of stars is 3.5.
"You can see that the score is calculated on the basis of the votes from 35,239 users. Yet if you add up the number of votes that appear on the right, the total is 44,060 votes," it added.
Careful users can then detect the page is "really a Web page designed to look like the Play Store, so users think they are in a trusted site," it added.Another sign that something is fishy is that the browser address bar is hidden at all times.Victims risk downloading an app that calls a premium rate SMS service that can drain their load.
Also, Panda noted the malware hides messages from the number 22365, a warning SMS to users who have activated this kind of premium service. — VC, GMA News
comment 0 التعليقات:
more_vertsentiment_satisfied Emoticon