A total of 151 scam applications have been identified and deleted from the Google Play Store, but Android users should double-check that none of them is installed.
Avast, a cybersecurity software company, has detected a massive premium SMS fraud running on the official Google Play Store, according to BGR. It's been termed the UltimaSMS campaign by Avast (because the first scam software uncovered during the investigation was Ultima Keyboard 3D Pro), and it's made up of 151 fraudulent applications that have been downloaded over 10.5 million times in over 80 countries.
Custom keyboards, QR code scanners, video and photo editors, spam call blockers, camera filters, and games are just some of the applications that are disguised as legitimate tools. However, they all have the same goal in mind: to sign users up for premium SMS services.
Every app follows the same methodology: The area code and language to use are determined by checking the phone's location, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), and phone number once it has been installed. Prompts then ask for the user's phone number and, in some instances, their email address.
This information is then utilised to sign them up for premium SMS services without the user's knowledge.
The charges are typical $40 or more each month, and users may not be aware of them for weeks or months.
Once an UltimaSMS app has reached its objective, it often stops running or advertises more subscription choices instead of the promised features. The concern is that premium subscriptions will continue to deduct money from users' accounts even if they remove the app.
Avast compiled a list of all 151 applications involved in the fraud and every Android user should examine it. If anyone has any of these applications installed (or have had them installed in the past), uninstall them immediately.
However, if anyone notices any unexpected charges, examine the statements and contact the carrier. If users wish to avoid this sort of fraud in the future, then should ask their carrier to disable premium SMS options on the account.
