Google removes 17 'SpyLoan' apps. Delete these right away!
File photo of the Google logo.
Google has deleted 17 SpyLoan apps from the Play Store with millions of downloads. According to a report by Slovak software company ESET on Tuesday (Dec 5), since the beginning of this year, the company observed an alarming growth of deceptive Android loan apps, which present themselves as legitimate personal loan services, promising quick and easy access to funds.
"Despite their attractive appearance, these services are in fact designed to defraud users by offering them high-interest-rate loans endorsed with deceitful descriptions, all while collecting their victims’ personal and financial information to blackmail them, and in the end gain their funds," the report said.
ESET, therefore, recognised these apps using the detection name SpyLoan, which directly refers to their spyware functionality combined with loan claims.
What are SpyLoan apps?
SpyLoan apps falsely represent themselves as a legitimate financial service for personal loans, promising easy access to funds, a report by Dark Reading said. This is done only to trick users into signing up for high-interest payments. During the signing-up process, the threat actors also collect the personal and financial details of the victims to blackmail them.
Victims of these apps have said that the annual cost of loans offered (on these apps) is much higher than stated, and the loan tenure is shorter. These loans are marketed through SMS messages and social media.
Which apps have been deleted?
Google has deleted 17 apps from the Play Store. These are AA Kredit, Amor Cash, GuayabaCash, EasyCredit, Cashwow, CrediBus, FlashLoan, PréstamosCrédito, Préstamos De Crédito-YumiCash, Go Crédito, Instantáneo Préstamo, Cartera grande, Rápido Crédito, Finupp Lending, 4S Cash, TrueNaira, and EasyCash.
ESET said these apps targeted users living in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
"As an ADA (App Defense Alliance) member, ESET identified 18 SpyLoan apps and reported them to Google, who subsequently removed 17 of these apps from their platform. These apps had a total of more than 12 million downloads from Google Play before their removal. The final app listed changed its behaviour; ESET therefore no longer detects it as a SpyLoan app," the company said in its report.