Android malicious, data theft on the rise
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Hyderabad: Instances of suspicious messages informing of jackpots hits and asking for bank details have been on the increase of late. Several persons have reported such messages, some even originating in other countries.
Several recent studies have found that the Android system is high on malware and a quarter of the malicious apps created for Android phones are to steal private data from phone contacts. Stolen contacts are sold online which are then used for cybercrime.
Hundreds of malicious applications for smart phones are designed to siphon private data. A recent study by application analysis firm Appthority found that 95 per cent of all free applications had at least one risky behaviour.
The study said that about “51 per cent of all free Android apps read address book while 48 per cent of corresponding iOS apps read address book.” Nearly 78 per cent of the top 100 free apps were designed to leak data from a smart phone.
Several people have complained of malicious messages. “I get this messages regularly with the jackpot amount in some hundreds of thousands of pounds,” said A. Arvind, a techie. S. Nikita, a research graduate, said, “I get international calls informing about some prize money and asking for personal bank details.”
How criminals find contact details can be attributed to the malware available for Android and other smart phones. Cops deny receiving any complaints of personal data theft. “But mobile phone users wouldn’t know, and if they did, it is difficult to investigate such cases,” said a city police official.
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