Google bans eight dangerous crypto apps – find out if you have them on your phone

• Google has removed eight fake cryptocurrency mining apps designed to mislead innocent users.
• These apps had in-app purchases ranging from $14.99 to $189.99.
• According to security research firm Trend Micro, there are over 120 fake cryptocurrency mining apps still available online.

Cryptocurrency is all the rage these days, and as it usually happens, malicious apps and hackers are here to take advantage of the ongoing crypto hype. These apps are designed to mislead innocent users into installing them on their smartphones.

Google has identified eight such dangerous crypto apps on the Play Store and banned them. These apps were designed to lure innocent and unsuspecting users into installing them on their phones. These apps employed the usual “get rich quick” scheme to lure users into investing money in a ‘cloud mining service’ and reaping profits.

“Despite these apps not being associated with cloud-mining operations or having any cryptocurrency-mining features, some of these apps prompt users to pay for increased cryptocurrency-mining capabilities via the apps’ in-app billing systems that range from $14.99 to as high as $189.99,” the Trend Micro report said.

According to an analysis by security firm Trend Micro, the eight banned apps forced users to watch advertisements and have an average monthly fee of $115 (approx. ₹1,114). These apps also suggested to users that they could pay for increased mining ability by buying their favourite crypto “machines” in the cloud.

“The app called Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System prompts its users to upgrade their crypto mining capacity by “buying” their favourite mining machines to earn more coins at a faster rate," the report further added.

The eight apps banned by Google are:

• BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining
• Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining
• Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet
• Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining
• Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System
• Bitcoin 2021
• MineBit Pro - Crypto Cloud Mining & btc miner
• Ethereum (ETH) - Pool Mining Cloud

What’s worse is, Trend Micro says that there are over 120 fake cryptocurrency mining apps still available. These apps have affected more than 4,500 users in the last year, according to the security research firm.

If you have any of these apps installed on your phone, it is advised that you uninstall them. To do so, go into Settings -> Apps and then, tap on the app’s name and select ‘Uninstall’.

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