151 Android apps that steal money in your account, you should remove it immediately if you accidentally install it

These apps masquerade as discount apps, games, custom keyboards, QR scanner apps, video and photo editing apps, spam call blockers, photo filters, and more.

All of these apps are run under a large-scale phishing campaign called UltimateSMS. In total, these 151 scam apps have been downloaded more than 10.5 million times through the Google Play Store.

After tricking users into installing, the app will automatically adjust to the country based on data collected from the device such as location and IMEI number. Next, they require the user to enter a phone number and email to gain full access to the app's features.

When the phone number is obtained, the application will automatically register for the SMS messaging service that costs 40 USD / 1 month without the user knowing.

To see the full list of 151 apps, you can visit the GitHub link here.

If you have accidentally installed one of these applications, you should proceed to remove it immediately. Also, to avoid losing money in the future, you need to contact your mobile service provider to request cancellation of all registered SMS messaging services.

Google also received a report from Avast and quickly removed all these apps from the Play Store.

Micah Soto

Update 26 October 2021