Even though Google is rejecting and removing Play Store apps at a furious pace, some malware is still getting through with relative ease. Forbes reports that more than 560,000 users have downloaded at least one of 13 malicious apps from a developer called “Luiz Pinto.” These apps masqueraded as car, truck, or bike driving simulators, but didn’t really simulate any driving at all. After running one of these apps for the first time, the icon would disappear, and ads would be displayed whenever the device is unlocked. As far as I can tell, the apps have since been removed from the Play Store, but they were clearly copies of existing, popular apps. “Luxury Car Parking”, for example, has the same title as an app from Oppana Games (which, ironically, has many negative reviews for displaying an excessive amount of ads), and uses a mirrored version of the exact same icon.



Google could do better to protect users on Google Play, Stefanko added. “Many times it would be simply enough to scan apps with anti-virus software before uploading them on to Google Play,” he said. Given Google owns an organization that could do just that, Virus Total, that shouldn’t be too much of an ask.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Over 560,000 Tricked Into Downloading Malware from Google Play