In May, the sensational gaming app Flappy Birds was pulled from the store by the creators of the app to give you a more interesting version in upcoming August, but the decision of the creators gives a chance to cyber criminals to make use of this.
According to a report by McAfee nearly 80 percent of the Flappy Birds in the market contains malware, which allow attackers to remotely hijack users’ phones to make calls without permission, steal contact list data, and track their exact GPS location.
In some cases, it also allows attackers to establish root access for unlimited control of your phone including the recording, sending, and receiving of SMS messages,” McAfee said.
“We tend to trust the names we know on the Internet and risk compromising our safety if it means gaining what we most desire,” McAfee Labs senior vice president Vincent Weafer said in a statement. “The year 2014 has already given us ample evidence that mobile malware developers are playing on these inclinations, to manipulate the familiar, legitimate features in the mobile apps and services we recognize and trust. Developers must become more vigilant with the controls they build into these apps, and users must be more mindful of what permissions they grant.”
On a year-over-year basis, mobile malware grew by 167 percent in the first quarter of 2014:
So, you are a Flappy Bird Fan—Beware of the fake apps available in the open market and you should download any app only from the Official App store. Wait for the original Flappy Bird which is going to hit the market again in August.
