Google bans 5 popular Android apps – all UK phone owners must delete them now

There’s a scary new Android alert and it’s definitely not a warning that UK phone owners should ignore. It seems that cyber criminals are attempting to infect British smartphone users with a vicious bug that can steal banking credentials and give them full access to accounts. If successful, the attack can hand things such as finance credentials, credit card details, balance and payment information over to thieves with them even able to make cash transfers without the owner’s permission.

This latest Android danger has been spotted by the team at ThreatFabric who discovered five applications on Google’s Play Store that contained the terrifying Anatsa banking trojan.

This bug isn’t actually new with it targeting devices since 2020. However, it’s now become much more widespread and is threatening users in areas including the UK, US and France and Italy.

The applications being used by hackers have all now been deleted and banned by Google but not before thousands of people had already installed them.

In fact, one app called PDF Viewer – Reader & Editor, was downloaded over 10,000 times before its deletion. This shows just how many people could be affected by the attack.

“The latest campaign by Anatsa reveals the evolving threat landscape that banks and financial institutions face in today’s digital world. The recent Google Play Store distribution campaigns targeting US, DACH, and UK regions demonstrate the immense potential for mobile fraud and the need for proactive measures to counter such threats.”

Here’s the full list of apps banned by Google

• PDF Reader – Edit & View PDF

• PDF Reader & Editor

• All Document Reader & Editor

• All Document Reader and Viewer

If you think you may have downloaded any PDF apps in the past few months it might be a good idea to check the source and make sure they have a good track record.

Those who have installed the apps mentioned above should check their bank statements and make sure no rogue transactions have taken place. It’s also worth checking all applications before installing them as some of the software banned from the Play Store has made a sneaky return a few days or months later.