More than 170 Android apps, including 25 from Google Play were caught trying to scam people by offering cryptomining services for a fee but failing to return anything. Security firm Lookout said these apps did not get caught for scamming people because they didn’t do anything malicious but acted as shells to collect money from users for services they never completed.
After Lookout’s analysis, Google removed 25 of the apps from Google Play, however, many of the apps are likely still accessible from third-party app stores. A cryptomining app uses your mobile device’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency. The apps generally require you to join a mining pool and will reward users with a small amount of cryptocurrency. The fake cryptomining apps found by Lookout have stolen at least $350,000 from more than 93,000 people.
Read more: Android app users targeted with cryptomining scams
