Bankbot Trojan is a dangerous threat to those who have mobile phones with Android operating system. This severe threat emerged at the beginning of 2017. Its appearance unmistakably follows the release of the sample source code of Android banking Trojan. This malicious program can target over 400 banking applications, which means that a lot of Android users could be in trouble if they infect their phone with this Trojan. Since this vicious program can trick Google security scanner, it can install malicious applications in the Google Play Store. This could have a devastating aftermath as unsuspecting users can install these fake apps and lose control of their smartphones, not to mention all the passwords and account information that can be stolen from them. It is essential that you become a more cautious mobile user to avoid similar attacks. The best way for you to protect yourself and your device is to install a proper anti-malware application to automatically filter out dangerous threats because this could be the only way for you to remove Bankbot Trojan from your phone. For more details on this dangerous malware program, please read our full report.
When it comes to Trojans written for PC, they are usually spread in spam e-mails or on malicious webpages created by cyber criminals using Exploit Kits. The most likely way for you to infect your smartphone with this Trojan is to download a fake application from the Google Play Store. It seems that the authors of Bankbot Trojan managed to upload three malicious apps to the store back in January this year, but those have been detected and blocked with the help of malware researchers. Of course, this will not stop such cyber criminals, so they have uploaded further applications that can carry this Trojan. It is possible that such an app will try to pretend to be something that most users need, such as a "funny video player." In fact, a security firm from the Netherlands called Securify has found two brand new apps used for the BankBot campaign in the Google Play Store. This clearly shows that there is still a major security hole in that store and that the developers of Google have a huge headache now trying to patch that hole up ASAP.
It is also possible that you get a link in a text message or an e-mail claiming to be something important for you to check out or simply something "must-see" that you cannot say no to; well, unless you are an experienced user and know exactly where such a link could take you. Unfortunately, there are lots of unsuspecting computer users out there not realizing the potential damage one single click can bring them if that click is on a corrupt link. One click could take you to the Play Store page of such a shady app armed with Bankbot Trojan or simply drop it onto your phone. However, once this dangerous threat is activated, you will be in big trouble because your worst nightmare will become reality. The lesson here is quite clear. You should always double-check any app you want to install. For example, run a web search trying to figure out what other people or malware experts say about your targeted program. Also, you should refrain from clicking on any links in text messages, suspicious websites, or in e-mails; you can always type in the URL for yourself to see what comes up because the link might hide something from you that could cause your landing on a malicious page or dropping such a threat onto your phone.
When your smartphone is infected with Bankbot Trojan, you should know that it can affect more than 400 banking applications allowing access to all kinds of banks, including Erste, Eurobank, Barclays, and Volksbank. This infection can display an overlay login screen whenever you want to use your phone for banking. You may not even realize that it is a fake screen because it may appear to be similar to your bank's login screen. However, once you enter your login name and password, the crooks behind this vicious attack can easily access your account and steal your money. This is probably the worst that can happen to anyone; losing hard-earned money from a seemingly safe bank. But this is not all this malware infection is capable of. In fact, it can lock your smartphone just like a ransomware does. Once you give administrative rights to the fake application during installation, this Trojan can do basically anything on your phone. It can, for example, scan your incoming messages and learn more about your double security measures or figure out more user name and password combos. So none of your personal or other accounts are safe anymore if Bankbot Trojan finds a way to your device. This means that it can easily steal your login names and passwords for any application on the device, including Twitter and Facebook.
It seems that Android users are not the lucky type since the security of their mobile phone requires some serious patching up by Google. As a matter of fact, it was not the first time that the Google Play Store has been hacked by other malware infections, including adware programs, Trojans (e.g., HummingWhale), and ransomware programs. Bankbot Trojan is probably one of the worst that can hit your smartphone. Therefore, if you want to feel safe, you should probably install an authentic anti-malware or anti-virus program to automatically protect your phone and your privacy. As we have already mentioned, it is also important that you do not click or tap on links sent to you in questionable e-mails or text messages. Prevention is very important when it comes to smartphones and PCs as well because by the time you may manage to delete Bankbot Trojan or any other threats, it could be too late.