CA discovers fake antivirus smartphone app
The shady but usually profitable world of fake antivirus software has arrived on mobiles with the discovery of a nameless Russian language app that claims its victims’ smartphones have become infected with malware.
Discovered by CA, and apparently running on Windows Mobile, this example counts as a pretty crude one by established standards of trickery. The malware is naively similar to the sort of anti-malware programs found in the very different Windows desktop environment, and poorly attempts to impersonate security software from Kaspersky Lab.
In fact, the program bears little resemblance to any of Kaspersky Lab’s mobile anti-malware software beyond the crude use of the company’s logo. As with any fake antivirus software, the program performs a fake malware scan before displaying two error codes that users are supposed to take as evidence of infection. How the criminals behind the attack get money from the scam is not clear but could involve phoning a number or contacting an email address to decode the phantom problems.
