It’s the security company simperium who through their own blog tell about the damage they have given the name «Dark Herring».
Takes off completely!
Creates subscription
This is said to have been downloaded by 105 million Android users in 70 countries.
The malware works by activating paid “premium” subscriptions to services for which users have no knowledge or consent.
The unsuspecting victims of fraud have been deducted via the mobile phone bill, and thus many have not noticed it until a while has passed. The average monthly price should be around 130 kroner.
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That was the website digi.no who reported the case in Norway. They have previously written about a pest called “Grifthorse”, and say that the new “Dark Herring” works in the same way, but have reached far more victims.
The malware is sophisticated and has been hidden in up to 470 different apps, according to the security company, which in its overview puts Norway and other Nordic countries at the top of the list of those who are most vulnerable to this type of fraud, as payment by mobile phone bill is very common here.
Norway is among a handful of countries that are red-marked by Zimperium, with an extra high risk of this type of fraud. Photo: Zimperium
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The company believes the fraudsters may have run away with several hundred million dollars since the fraud was started in March 2020.
– Extra scary
Asks for information
The website phoneranea.com writes that the malware has sneaked away from antivirus applications, but that through the infiltrated apps it asks for more information than is necessary to use them.
For example, if you download a game and the app asks for your phone number to play, this is a clear sign that you should delete it immediately.
Zimperium has posted a list of the affected apps her. They should already be removed in the Play Store, but can still be found at other services that offer downloads of Android apps.
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