Those using Android mobile phones have been urged to delete five apps from their devices with Samsung Galaxy users being told to be on high alert.
These apps, which could be downloaded from the Google Play Store contain a nasty piece of malware called Anatsa.
This Trojan virus is capable of carrying out actions on a device remotely such as withdrawing money from a bank account.
Experts at the security firm Threat Fabric, told the Metro that the apps pose a "critical" threat to Android users, especially those using Samsung Galaxy models.
The company said: "A unique aspect of this dropper was its malicious code, specifically targeting Samsung devices.
"The malicious AccessibilityService was tailored to interact with the UI [user interface] elements of Samsung devices, meaning only Samsung users were impacted in this phase of the campaign.
"This suggests that the threat actors initially developed and tested their code exclusively for Samsung devices."
The dangerous apps have now been removed from the Play Store but the security team said that those who have already downloaded them could still be at risk.
A Google Spokesperson said: "All of the apps identified in the report have been removed from Google Play. Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services.
"Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behaviour, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play."
See the apps Android users should delete right now
These are the apps Android phone users should delete right now amid the urgent warning over malware.
- Phone Cleaner – File Explorer
- PDF Viewer – File Explorer
- PDF Reader – Viewer & Editor (com.jumbodub.fileexplorerpdfviewer)
- Phone Cleaner: File Explorer
- PDF Reader: File Manager
Anasta, which has been around since 2021, became well-known in 2023.
Threat Fabric has said that it does not expect the virus to die out anytime soon, adding: "Based on this pattern, we anticipate the continuation of this campaign, with new droppers appearing in the official store and an expansion into additional targeted regions."
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