New Delhi: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has raised an alert regarding a rise in financial frauds involving malicious Android applications. Authorities affirmed that cybercriminals are masquerading these malicious programs as pornography applications to gain unauthorized access to mobile devices.
Officials stated that these applications are primarily promoted through advertisements on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Users clicking on these advertisements are redirected to external websites serving adult content, where they are prompted to download Android Package Kit (APK) files.
The cyber crime agency maintained that the operations are being conducted under various names, including “Night Play,” “Reloop,” “Kyss,” “Vimo,” “Rivo,” “Nexo,” “Vixa,” and other similar variants.
Once installed, the applications request permissions to download additional software and exploit accessibility settings to take full control of the device. Authorities declared that this access enables bad actors to monitor device activity, manipulate settings, and carry out unauthorized financial transactions.
I4C asserted that certain applications also install Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to route internet traffic for illicit activities while actively preventing users from uninstalling the software through standard device settings. Citizens have been advised to install applications strictly through official platforms, review requested permissions carefully, and avoid downloading files from unverified online sources.
