In Russia, a new scheme of fraud with bank applications was revealed

A new fraudulent scheme involving counterfeit bank applications has been uncovered by experts.

Banking applications are being disguised by hackers as programs for remote access to smartphones.

They are persuaded to set them up via instant messaging apps.

Users of Android smartphones are in danger.

Experts from Kaspersky Lab have discovered a new type of fraud, according to RBC. The perpetrators disguise malicious programs that allow them to remotely access smartphones as banking applications and then try to convince their victims to install them through instant messaging services.

Previously, this type of fraud was not seen where people are attempting to gain access to online banking on Android devices.

Kaspersky Lab's cybersecurity expert, Dmitry Kalinin, has reported that in the last 11 days, the company has identified and blocked hundreds of attacks using altered banking applications.

Kalinin explained that scammers are taking legitimate open source remote access apps from Google Play, altering them by changing the name and icons, and adding the name and logo of the targeted bank.

Fraudsters pose as bank support staff and contact potential victims, giving various excuses to get them to install a "support application". The installation file is then sent to the victim via a messaging service.

By installing this application on a device, fraudsters can obtain the login information for a bank's mobile app or gain access to an account, thus enabling them to steal money.

Due to sanctions, major bank apps have been taken off of Google Play and the App Store, causing attackers to be more likely to employ deceptive tactics with counterfeit bank apps.

In 2022, the Central Bank noticed that fraudsters had started to take advantage of social media and mobile apps to steal money. In response, the Bank of Russia blocked 1,942 pages on VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as 23 mobile applications in the App Store, Google Play, and other app stores the previous year.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation reported that 4.5 billion rubles were stolen from bank customers by fraudsters, of which only 4.3% of the funds were returned to the victims by credit institutions.