There’s another nasty strain of malware floating around on Android that could cost users a lot of money. The malware is known as “Joker” and is hidden inside at least 24 apps. Once installed on an Android user’s phone, Joker gets to work silently signing users up for subscription services. As Aleksejs Kuprins from cybersecurity company CSIS explains:
For example, in Denmark, Joker can silently sign the victim up for a 50 DKK/week service (roughly ~6,71 EUR). This strategy works by automating the necessary interaction with the premium offer’s webpage, entering the operator’s offer code, then waiting for a SMS message with a confirmation code and extracting it using regular expressions. Finally, the Joker submits the extracted code to the offer’s webpage, in order to authorize the premium subscription.
Obviously, you want to get any Joker-ridden apps off your Android phone right now. Gizmodo has published a full list of the apps, which we’ve listed below. If you have any of these apps on your Android—or if you have in the past—after deleting them you also want to check your Google Play account as well as your credit and debit card statements for any unexpected subscriptions.
The apps that are riddled with the Joker malware are:
- Advocate Wallpaper
- Age Face
- Altar Message
- Antivirus Security – Security Scan
- Beach Camera
- Board picture editing
- Certain Wallpaper
- Climate SMS
- Collate Face Scanner
- Cute Camera
- Dazzle Wallpaper
- Declare Message
- Display Camera
- Great VPN
- Humour Camera
- Ignite Clean
- Leaf Face Scanner
- Mini Camera
- Print Plant scan
- Rapid Face Scanner
- Reward Clean
- Ruddy SMS
- Soby Camera
- Spark Wallpaper
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