According to a Trend Micro report, online banking malware volume has increased in Q3, spread across the globe and is no longer concentrated on certain regions such as Europe and the Americas. Trend Micro continued to see this trend, with infection counts going beyond the 200,000 mark, the highest infection number since 2002.
The FAKETOKEN malware mimics the token generator app of a financial institution. Users who wind up with this malicious app end up giving out their password to avoid receiving an error message. Once users enter their password, the malware generates a fake token and sends the stolen information to a specific number.
The smartphone revolution has only made cybercrime more pervasive. Before 2013 ends, the number of malicious and high-risk apps targeting the Android platform is expected to reach the 1-million mark. Among these, 80% were malicious in nature, topped by premium service abusers. Premium service abusers are known to send unauthorized text messages to certain numbers and often register users to premium-rate services.
The report also mentiones that beyond the dangers malicious apps posed, mobile devices were also hit by threats that transcended platforms. These include a fake WhatsApp email containing a link that, when clicked using a mobile device, may lead to a website that hosts a premium service abuser.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now