Beware! 9 Android apps over 5.8 mn downloads caught stealing users’ Facebook password

July 5: Google has given the boot to nine Android apps downloaded more than 5.8 million times from the company’s Play Store after Doctor Web’s analysts said these apps used a sneaky way to steal users’ Facebook login credentials.

Doctor Web’s malware analysts revealed that  9 out of 10 trojan apps exist on the Google Play Store. These Android apps are stealer trojans and were spread as harmless software.  These apps stole passwords by encouraging users to log into their Facebook accounts to unlock features and disable in-app ads. After that hackers somehow managed to access the user’s Facebook credentials and even cookies which were sent to cyber criminals. Doctor Web further reported these apps to Google and as a result, few of them are removed from the platform.

A Google spokesman said that the company has also banned the developers of all nine apps from the store, meaning they will not be allowed to submit new apps. That’s the right thing for Google to do, but it nonetheless poses only a minimal hurdle for the developers because they can simply sign up for a new developer account under a different name for a one-time fee of $25.

These 9 apps are:

1. PIP Photo
2. Processing Photo
3. Rubbish Cleaner
4. Horoscope Daily
5. App Lock Keep
6. Lockit Master
7. Horoscope Pi
8. App Lock Manager
9. Inwell Fitness

Anyone who has downloaded one or more of the above apps should thoroughly examine their device and their Facebook accounts for any signs of compromise. Downloading a free Android antivirus app from a known security firm and scanning for additional malicious apps isn’t a bad idea, either.