Google has reportedly removed six apps masquerading as antivirus apps from the Play Store, after they were found to be infecting devices with the Sharkbot malware. Sharkbot is an Android Stealer malware that is used to collect the login credentials and payment details of unsuspecting users, and can be used to target victims in specific regions. The malicious applications reportedly accumulated 15,000 downloads on the Google Play store before they were removed.
Google has reportedly removed six apps infected with the Sharkbot bank stealer malware from the Google Play store. The apps were downloaded 15,000 times before they were ejected from the store. All six apps were designed to pose as antivirus solutions for Android smartphones and were designed to select targets using a geofencing feature, stealing their login credentials for various websites and services. These infected applications were reportedly used to target users in Italy and the United Kingdom. According to a blog post by Check Point Research, six Android applications pretending to be genuine antivirus apps on the Google Play store were identified as “droppers” for the Sharkbot malware. Sharkbot is an Android Stealer that is used to infect devices and steal login credentials and payment details from unsuspecting users.
