Predatory app downloaded 100,000 times from Google Play Store steals data, uses it for blackmail

NewsPosted: February 25, 2025 by Pieter ArntzA malicious app claiming to be a financial management tool has been downloaded 100,000 times from the Google Play Store. The app— known as “Finance Simplified”—belongs to the SpyLoan family which specializes in predatory lending.Sometimes malware creators manage to get their apps listed in the official app store. This is a great benefit for them since it lends a sense of legitimacy to the app, and they don’t have to convince users to sideload the app from an unofficial site.So, it gives them a much larger audience, they can lean on the trust we invest in the official app stores and users don’t have to do anything they might perceive as suspicious.While Google has enhanced security measures in place—including AI-powered threat detection and real-time scanning— that are designed to detect and block malicious apps more effectively, the cat-and-mouse game between cybercriminals and security measures continues, with each side trying to outsmart t...