The Facebook Password Stealing Apps Found on Android Play Store

Even with many efforts made by Google last year, malicious apps constantly somehow manage to make their ways into Google app store.

Security researchers have now discovered a new piece of malware, named GhostTeam, in at least 56 applications on Google Play Retail outlet that is designed to steal Facebook login credentials and aggressively show pop-up advertisements to users.

Discovered independently by a couple of cybersecurity firms, Trend Micro and Avast, the destructive apps disguise as various utility (such as the flashlight, QR code scanner, and compass), performance-boosting (like file-transfer and cleaner), entertainment, lifestyle and video downloader programs.

Like most malware apps, these Android apps themselves rarely contain any malicious code, which is why they managed to find yourself on Google's official Play Store.

Once installed, it 1st confirms if the device is not an emulator or an online environment and then accordingly downloads the malware payload, which usually prompts the victim to approve device administrator dispenses to gain persistence on the device.

"The downloader app collects information about the device, such as unique unit ID, location, language and display parameters, " Avast said. "The device’s location is obtained from the IP address that is used when contacting online services that offer geolocation details for IPs. "

How Android Malware Steals Your Facebook Account Password As soon as users open their Facebook app, the malware immediately prompts them to re-verify their account by logging into Facebook.

Instead of exploiting any system or application vulnerabilities, the malware uses a classic phishing scheme in order to get the job done.

These fake apps simply launch a WebView component with Facebook look-alike login page and ask users to log-in. Apparently, WebView code steals the victim's Facebook username and password and sends them to a remote hacker-controlled server.
"This is most likely due to developers using embedded internet browsers (WebView, WebChromeClient) in their apps, instead of opening the webpage in a browser, " Avast said. Trend Micro researchers warn that these stolen Facebook credentials can later be repurposed to deliver "far more damaging malware" or "amass a zombie social media army" to spread fake news or generate cryptocurrency-mining malware. Stolen Facebook accounts can also expose "a wealth of other financial and personally recognizable information, " which can then be sold in the subterranean markets.

Security firms believe that GhostTeam has been developed and uploaded to the Play Store by a Vietnamese developer due to considerable use of Vietnamese language in the code.
According to the experts, the most users affected by the GhostTeam malware reportedly resides in India, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Besides stealing Facebook credentials, the GhostTeam malware also displays pop up adverts aggressively by always keeping the infected device awake by showing unwanted ads in the background.