In the Google Play catalog scam app
, which successfully sells access to Android updates for Samsung smartphones, which are initially distributed by Samsung companies for free. Despite the fact that the application is hosted by Updato, a company that is not affiliated with Samsung in any way, it has already gained more than 10 million installations, which once again confirms the assumption that a huge layer of users are ready to install anything on their smartphone without thinking about possible malicious consequences and not checking what they install.
The Updates for Samsung application includes a WebView browser component that displays the contents of the updato.com website, which offers links to available firmware updates. Two download modes are available - free with speed limit and premium for $34.99 per year with no speed limit. Free downloads are limited to 56 Kbps and timed out at random times to encourage the user to pay for higher speed downloads.
The subscription payment is made bypassing the Google Play service through its own payment gateway, which can be used to obtain bank card details. When installed, the app requires access to the camera, network and phone status, external storage, precise location data, WiFi and Bluetooth settings, activation during sleep mode, and sending notifications.
Source: opennet.ru