Bogus Facebook apps redirects mobile traffic towards android apps , warns Bitdefender Security researchers. Cybercriminals developed fake version of two legitimate apps “Lista de Verificación del Amante Ideal” and “Lista de Verificare pentru Iubit(a)”(that’s Spanish and Romanian for “Girlfriend Checklist”). The fake version promotes Android games.
The legitimate version of this app are supposed to scan your Facebook contacts and list all the potential girlfriends/boyfriends among your friends. It also enables tagging so “potential candidates” can be made aware of the (fake) app you’ve used.
These fake applications have the same behavior as their original counterparts (in terms of functionality), but they perform a http 302 redirect to another link, that’s not Facebook-related, when they detect mobile traffic.
The fake version will redirect you to a random Google Play game , if you are from Android handset.
"None of the analyzed Google Play apps have proven to be infected with malware, but the possibility of being redirected to some potentially malicious application or website should not be taken lightly." says researcher.
"This could be the beginning of paid promotions through Facebook, where Android app developers can actually subscribe to have their apps promoted via Facebook by means of illegitimate services. This type of paid advertisement of Android apps through Facebook is a new concept and although these redirecting links/apps are not malicious so far, they could turn out to be at some point."
The legitimate version of this app are supposed to scan your Facebook contacts and list all the potential girlfriends/boyfriends among your friends. It also enables tagging so “potential candidates” can be made aware of the (fake) app you’ve used.
These fake applications have the same behavior as their original counterparts (in terms of functionality), but they perform a http 302 redirect to another link, that’s not Facebook-related, when they detect mobile traffic.
The fake version will redirect you to a random Google Play game , if you are from Android handset.
"None of the analyzed Google Play apps have proven to be infected with malware, but the possibility of being redirected to some potentially malicious application or website should not be taken lightly." says researcher.
"This could be the beginning of paid promotions through Facebook, where Android app developers can actually subscribe to have their apps promoted via Facebook by means of illegitimate services. This type of paid advertisement of Android apps through Facebook is a new concept and although these redirecting links/apps are not malicious so far, they could turn out to be at some point."