The Android app SafetyCore was silently installed and looks at incoming and outgoing pictures to check their decency.

Sometimes the updates we install to keep our devices safe do a little bit more than we might suspect at first glance. Take the October 2024 Android Security Bulletin.

It included a new service called Android System SafetyCore. If you can find a mention of that in the security bulletin, you’re a better reader then I am. It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when a Google security blog titled 5 new protections on Google Messages to help keep you safe revealed that one of the new protections was designed to introduce Sensitive Content Warnings for Google Messages.

Sensitive Content Warnings is an optional feature that blurs images that may contain nudity before viewing, and when an image that may contain nudity is about to be sent or forwarded, it will remind users of the risks of sending nude imagery and preventing accidental shares.

**Wait! What?**

Yes, there is now a service on my phone that checks whether your pictures are “decent enough” to send or share? I’m not oblivious to the many users that would be better off with such a service, but I’m not so sure they’d appreciate it.

However, what really concerned me is the fact that Google is looking at my incoming and outgoing pictures. I use end-to-end-encrypted (E2EE) messaging for a reason. The content is for me and the receiver, and no-one else, and that definitely includes Google.

But, again, no mention of SafetyCore in that blog or what will provide the Sensitive Content Warnings feature with the necessary data.

So, you can imagine the surprise and outrage when users found this service which doesn’t show up on the regular list of running applications that has permissions to do almost anything on the device.

And by looking up what this app called SafetyCore was all about, all of the above starts to make sense.

Google PlayStore says:

> “SafetyCore is a Google system service for Android 9+ devices. It provides the underlying technology for features like the upcoming Sensitive Content Warnings feature in Google Messages that helps users protect themselves when receiving potentially unwanted content. While SafetyCore started rolling out last year, the Sensitive Content Warnings feature in Google Messages is a separate, optional feature and will begin its gradual rollout in 2025. The processing for the Sensitive Content Warnings feature is done on-device and all of the images or specific results and warnings are private to the user.”

Google goes on to reassure:

*   The developer says that this app doesn’t collect or share any user data. 
*   The developer says that this app doesn’t share user data with other companies or organizations. 
*   The developer says that this app doesn’t collect user data.
*   The developer has committed to follow the Play Families policy for this app. 

Google promises that it only rates our pictures and does not collect or share them, but this feature has almost Artificial Intelligence (AI) written all over it. As we all know, an AI needs to be trained, and training an AI locally on your phone is hardly an option. I wish it had the necessary power, but it doesn’t.

I for one don’t see how the secretly installed service measures up to what the feature has to offer. But obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion and the device is yours to do with as you please.

**How to uninstall or disable SafetyCore**

The good people at ZDNet provided instructions on how to get rid of SafetyCore or disable it if you would like to do so.

So, if you wish to uninstall or disable SafetyCore, take these steps:

1.  **Open Settings**: Go to your device’s Settings app
2.  **Access Apps**: Tap on ‘Apps’ or ‘Apps & Notifications’
3.  **Show System Apps**: Select ‘See all apps’ and then tap on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner to choose ‘Show system apps’
4.  **Locate SafetyCore**: Scroll through the list or search for ‘SafetyCore’ to find the app
5.  **Uninstall or Disable**: Tap on Android System SafetyCore, then select ‘Uninstall’ if available. If the uninstall option is grayed out, you may only be able to disable it
6.  **Manage Permissions**: If you choose not to uninstall the service, you can also check and try to revoke any SafetyCore permissions, especially internet access

Note: depending on the software version and manufacturer of your device, these instructions may be slightly off. I personally couldn’t test them because my Samsung has not received the October patch yet due to the patch gaps.

If you’d like to learn more about AI and encrypted messaging, we recommend listening to our podcast The new rules for AI and encrypted messaging, with Mallory Knodel (Lock and Code S06E01)

**We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your mobile devices by downloading Malwarebytes for iOS, and Malwarebytes for Android today.

 Android happy to check your nudes before you forward them 

The stolen information included listed contacts, call logs, text messages, photos, and the device’s location.

A malicious app claiming to be a financial management tool has been downloaded 100,000 times from the Google Play Store. The app— known as “Finance Simplified”—belongs to the SpyLoan family which specializes in predatory lending.

Sometimes malware creators manage to get their apps listed in the official app store. This is a great benefit for them since it lends a sense of legitimacy to the app, and they don’t have to convince users to sideload the app from an unofficial site.

So, it gives them a much larger audience, they can lean on the trust we invest in the official app stores and users don’t have to do anything they might perceive as suspicious.

While Google has enhanced security measures in place—including AI-powered threat detection and real-time scanning— that are designed to detect and block malicious apps more effectively, the cat-and-mouse game between cybercriminals and security measures continues, with each side trying to outsmart the other.

In this case, the loan app evaded detection on Google Play, by loading a WebView to redirect users to an external website from where they could download the app hosted on an Amazon EC2 server.

Predatory lending is any lending practice where the borrower is taken advantage of by the lender. Predatory lenders impose lending terms that are unfair or abusive.

The apps in the SpyLoan family offer attractive loan terms with virtually no background checks. But when the apps are installed, they steal information from the victim’s device that can be used to blackmail the victim. Especially when they miss any payments on the loan.

Among the stolen information are listed contacts, call logs, text messages, photos, and the device’s location.

Although the app has now been removed from Google Play, it may continue to run on affected devices, collecting sensitive information in the background.

The researchers found that the app only targets users in India with the recommended loan applications and the redirect to an external website.

The information stolen from users could well be used for malicious purposes or sold to other cybercriminals.

Losing data related to a financial account can have severe consequences. If you find an app from this family or another information stealer on your device, there are a few guidelines to follow to limit the damage:

*   **Change your password.** You can make a stolen password useless to thieves by changing it. Choose a strong password that you don’t use for anything else. Better yet, let a password manager choose one for you.
*   **Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).** If you can, use a FIDO2-compliant hardware key, laptop or phone as your second factor. Some forms of two-factor authentication (2FA) can be phished just as easily as a password. 2FA that relies on a FIDO2 device can’t be phished.
*   **Consider not storing your card details**. It’s definitely more convenient to get sites to remember your card details for you, but we highly recommend not storing that information on websites.
*   **Set up identity monitoring.** Identity monitoring alerts you if your personal information is found being traded illegally online, and helps you recover after.

**We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your mobile devices by downloading Malwarebytes for iOS, and Malwarebytes for Android today.

 Predatory app downloaded 100,000 times from Google Play Store steals data, uses it for blackmail 

Fake browser update scams now target Mac, Windows, and Android users, delivering malware like FrigidStealer, Lumma Stealer, and…

Fake browser update scams now target Mac, Windows, and Android users, delivering malware like FrigidStealer, Lumma Stealer, and Marcher trojan through compromised websites.

Cybersecurity researchers at Proofpoint have identified two new cybercriminal groups behind a wave of fake browser update scams designed to infect users with malware. These groups, tracked as TA2726 and TA2727, are using compromised websites to trick visitors into downloading malicious software with now including a newly discovered Mac-specific information stealer called FrigidStealer.

****How the Attack Works****

The scam relies on web injects, a technique where attackers insert malicious code into legitimate websites. When users visit an infected site, they see a fake browser update prompt urging them to download and install an update. Instead of a real update, the download delivers malware that can steal sensitive data or install more dangerous payloads.

****TA2726 and TA2727****

TA2726 operates as a traffic seller, essentially providing this redirection service for other malicious actors. Researchers believe that TA2726 appears to be working alongside TA569, a previously known threat actor and once the main player in “fake update” campaigns. TA2727, on the other hand, according to Proofpoint’s blog post, is actively distributing malware itself, often employing the “fake update” ruse to trick users.

One recent campaign observed TA2727 delivering different malware based on the victim’s location. In the United States and Canada, users were directed to the SocGholish inject, which led to the installation of malware. But in Europe, Windows users encountered a fake browser update prompt that installed the Lumma Stealer, while Android users were targeted with the Marcher banking trojan.

****FrigidStealer macOS Malware****

The new FrigidStealer targets Mac users, and the attack starts with a fake update message that redirects them to a malicious file. If clicked, the file, disguised as a browser update (both Chrome and Safari), installs the information stealer. FrigidStealer then secretly harvests sensitive data like browser cookies, files related to passwords and cryptocurrencies, and even Apple Notes, just like the recently spotted new variant of the XCSSET malware.

Fake Safari and Chrome browser update websites delivering FrigidStealer (Via: Proofpoint)

The malware is written in Go and uses WailsIO, a framework that allows the fake update window to look realistic. It also bypasses Mac’s Gatekeeper security feature by requiring users to right-click and select “Open,” a common trick used by Mac malware authors.

****Windows and Android Users Also Targeted****

Mac users aren’t the only ones at risk. The same attack chain has been found delivering Marcher banking trojan for Android and Lumma Stealer and DeerStealer for Windows.

For Android users, clicking the update downloads Marcher, a banking trojan that has been active since 2013 and is designed to steal login credentials from banking apps. If a Windows user clicks the fake update, they receive an MSI installer that loads a trojanized DLL, ultimately running Lumma Stealer to extract credentials and financial data.

Users can still protect themselves by learning basic cybersecurity practices, learning how to spot a phishing email, avoiding third-party apps and tools, and scanning files and links on sites like VirusTotal or ANY.RUN.

New FrigidStealer Malware Infects macOS via Fake Browser Updates

Is your Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram account safe? Google warns of increasing attacks by Russian state-backed groups. Learn…

Is your Signal, WhatsApp, or Telegram account safe? Google warns of increasing attacks by Russian state-backed groups. Learn how they’re stealing messages and what you can do to defend yourself.

Russian state-backed actors are increasingly targeting secure messaging applications like Signal to intercept sensitive communications, reveals a recent report by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group. These groups, often aligned with Russian intelligence services, are focusing on compromising accounts used by individuals of interest, including military personnel, politicians, journalists, and activists. While the initial focus appears to be related to the conflict in Ukraine, researchers believe that these tactics will spread to other regions and threat actors.  

A primary method employed by these actors in this campaign involves exploiting the “linked devices” feature of Signal. By using phishing techniques, they trick users into scanning malicious QR codes, which then secretly link the victim’s account to a device controlled by the attacker. This allows the attacker to receive all messages in real-time, effectively eavesdropping on conversations without needing to compromise the entire device.

These malicious QR codes are often disguised as legitimate Signal resources, such as group invites, security alerts, or even device pairing instructions. In some cases, they are incorporated into phishing pages designed to mimic specialized applications, such as those used by the Ukrainian military.

The screenshot shows a Signal app phishing site and one of the malicious QR codes used in the attack (via Google).

In some cases, malicious QR codes are used in close-access scenarios, such as when Russian military forces capture devices on the battlefield.  This method lacks centralized monitoring and can go unnoticed for extended periods, which makes it hard to detect.

One group, identified as UNC5792 (also known as UAC-0195), has been observed modifying legitimate Signal group invite links. These altered links redirect victims to fake pages that initiate the unauthorized linking of their devices to the attacker’s control. The phishing pages are designed to closely resemble official Signal invites, making detection challenging. 

Another group, UNC4221 (UAC-0185), has targeted Ukrainian military personnel by embedding malicious QR codes within phishing sites that mimic artillery guidance applications. They have also used fake Signal security alerts to deceive victims. 

Beyond phishing, APT44 (Sandworm) utilizes malware and scripts to extract Signal messages from compromised Windows and Android devices. Their WAVESIGN script retrieves recent messages, while Infamous Chisel malware searches for Signal database files on Android devices.  

Other groups, like Turla and UNC1151, target the desktop application, using scripts and tools to copy and exfiltrate stored messages. UNC4221 has also used a JavaScript payload called PINPOINT to gather user information and geolocation data.

The popularity of secure messaging apps makes them prime targets for adversaries and other platforms, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, are also facing similar threats.

“The operational emphasis on Signal from multiple threat actors in recent months serves as an important warning for the growing threat to secure messaging applications that is certain to intensify in the near-term,” researchers warned.

Therefore, users are advised to stay cautious. It is important to use strong screen locks with complex passwords, keep operating systems and apps updated, and ensure Google Play Protect is enabled. Regularly auditing linked devices, exercising caution with QR codes and links, and enabling two-factor authentication are also recommended. iPhone users at high risk should consider enabling Lockdown Mode.

Hackers Tricking Users Into Linking Devices to Steal Signal Messages

Google is allowing its advertizing customers to fingerprint website visitors. Can you stop it?

In the ongoing saga that is Google’s struggle to replace tracking cookies, we have entered a new phase. But whether that’s good news is another matter.

For years, Google has been saying it will phase out the third-party tracking cookies that power much of its advertising business online, proposing new ideas that would allegedly preserve user privacy while still providing businesses with steady revenue streams.

But it’s not been straight forward for Google. As we reported in July, 2024, the tech giant said that due to feedback from authorities and other stakeholders in advertising, Google was looking at a new path forward in finding the balance between privacy and an ad-supported internet.

The announcement read:

> “Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing.”

It’s not hard to see why this is scary. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature caused a significant upset in the mobile advertising industry. When introduced in April 2021, it allowed users to opt out of being tracked across apps and websites. This led to an estimated 96% of US users choosing to opt out of tracking. With three billion Chrome users around the world, that might easily be an advertiser’s worst nightmare.

Google promised to kill tracking cookies by introducing a one-time global prompt upgrade that would present users with the choice of being tracked or not. By third-party cookies that is.

But ahead of fulfilling that promise, Google has introduced digital fingerprinting. Digital fingerprinting is like creating a unique digital ID for you or your device based on various pieces of information collected when you browse the internet, like:

*   Operating System (OS): Windows, Android, iOS, etc.
*   Browser type and version
*   IP address
*   Installed browser plugins
*   Time zone
*   Language settings
*   …and so on.

With all these pieces of information, it’s possible to create a unique fingerprint by which websites can recognize you, even if you clear your cookies. They will even be able to make an informed guess if you visit the same site with a different browser.

Google itself, at one point, said that fingerprinting was undesirable:

> “Unlike cookies, users cannot clear their fingerprint and therefore cannot control how their information is collected. We think this subverts user choice and is wrong.”

But, per Google’s announcement on December 19, 2024, organizations that use its advertising products can use fingerprinting techniques from last Sunday, February 16, 2025. Well, as far as Google is concerned that is.

The UK information commissioner’s office (ICO) reminded businesses they do not have free rein to use fingerprinting as they please. Like all advertising technology, it must be lawfully and transparently deployed – and if it is not, the ICO will act.

But the OK from Google is likely the start of an intermediate period where we will be bothered with both fingerprinting and third-party cookies until the advertising industry has had the time to transition.

**What can I do?**

Countering fingerprinting is a lot harder than keeping cookies at a minimum. But there are some things you can do to make it harder to get your fingerprint taken.

*   However hard it may be, the time may have come to consider switching to a browser that provides built-in features to resist fingerprinting
*   Or look for anti-fingerprinting tools in the form of browser extensions
*   Use a VPN that can mask your IP address and location, which are very significant pieces of information for fingerprinting
*   Keep your browser updated, so your old version will not give away your data
*   Disabling JavaScript can break a website’s functionality, but it also significantly reduces the data websites can gather about you.

We don’t just write about privacy, we can help you improve yours. Try Malwarebytes Privacy VPN.

 Google now allows digital fingerprinting of its users 

Info stealers are thriving on Mac, with one specific variant accounting for 70% of all info stealer detections at the end of 2024.

The latest, major threats to Mac computers can steal passwords and credit card details with delicate precision, targeting victims across the internet based on their device, location, and operating system.

These are the dangers of “infostealers,” which have long plagued Windows devices but, in the past two years, have become a serious threat for Mac owners. And in 2024, one malicious program in particular is responsible for the lion’s share of infostealer activity—racking up 70% of known infostealer detections on Mac.

These findings come from the 2025 State of Malware report. While many of the threats detailed in the report target companies and businesses, this latest wave of infostealers makes no distinction between Mac computers in an office and Mac computers at home. Unlike ransomware, which is deployed against large businesses that cybercriminals hope can pay hefty ransoms, infostealers can deliver illicit gains no matter the target.

With the right cybersecurity practices, everyday Mac users can stay safe from these emerging threats.

****The threat of infostealers****

“Infostealers” are a type of malware that do exactly as they say—they steal information from people’s devices. But the variety of information that these pieces of malware can steal makes them particularly dangerous.

With stolen credit card details, hackers can attempt fraudulent purchases online. With stolen passwords, the impact is even broader; hackers could wire funds from a breached online banking account into their own, or masquerade as someone on social media to ask friends and family for money. Some infostealers don’t even require an additional step—they can take cryptocurrency directly from a victim’s online accounts. 

But there is another threat to infostealers that comes from their recent history. They are wildly adaptable.

In 2016, Malwarebytes first discovered an infostealer called TrickBot that, when implanted on a person’s device, would steal online banking credentials. But over time, the developers behind TrickBot began adding alarming new features, including the capabilities to steal Outlook credentials, disable Windows Defender, and even to download and deliver additional, separate malware onto infected devices.

By 2018, TrickBot was the largest threat to businesses.

Now, in 2025, another infostealer is raising red flags all across cyberspace, and this time, it isn’t interested in Windows devices.

****The next Mac malware****

Malware is “malicious software,” and just like legitimate software, malware has to be developed for specific operating systems. That means that, for instance, ransomware that works on a Windows laptop doesn’t automatically work on a Mac laptop, and likewise, a phishing app developed for Android devices doesn’t work on iPhones.

For years, then, a great deal of malware activity has focused on Windows devices. The common cybercriminal calculus was that, if there were more Windows users in the world, there was more reason to target those users with cyberattacks.

During this time, most Mac threats were bothersome pieces of malware that would hijack a victim’s web browser to deliver annoying ads and wayward links. But as Mac computers have become standard within businesses—and as demand for Windows computers has waned—cybercriminals have readjusted their thinking.

In 2023, a new infostealer on Mac called Atomic Stealer (AMOS) made its debut, and since its launch, it has not only showcased new features—much like TrickBot—it has also been gussied up with some of the markings of a legitimate business.  

For instance, AMOS can be “licensed” out to other cybercriminals, much like how genuine companies offer their own software for a monthly subscription price. For AMOS, that price was initially $1,000 a month, and with that access, cybercriminals didn’t just buy a productivity tool or communications app, they bought access to an information stealer that can crack into Mac computers to steal a variety of sensitive information.

By January 2024, AMOS had increased its price to $3,000 a month. The developers ran a holiday promotion—seriously—and even released an AMOS update that would better obfuscate the infostealer from being detected by cybersecurity software.

But in the world of cybercrime, malware _features_ only mean so much. Another important piece of cybercrime is getting malware _onto_ a device to begin with. And in 2023, malware delivery evolved hand-in-hand with Mac infostealers.

Rather than trying to deliver malware through clumsy email attachments, cybercriminals have recently turned to “malicious advertising” or “malvertising.” This means that cybercriminals will create bogus versions of websites that will rank highly during regular Google searches, tempting victims into clicking the first, ad-supported link they see online, and unknowingly reaching a website controlled entirely by cybercriminals.

On these websites, cybercriminals advertise a piece of high-demand software and trick users into a download. But instead of receiving the desired software, victims receive, in these cases, infostealers.

This one-two punch of malvertising and advanced infostealers paved the way last year for the next, big Mac threat, called Poseidon.

As we warned in the State of Malware report:

> “Poseidon boasts that it can steal cryptocurrency from over 160 different wallets, and passwords from web browsers, the Bitwarden and KeePassXC password managers, the FileZilla file transfer app, and VPN configurations including Fortinet and OpenVPN.”

Poseidon is the most active infostealer on Mac today, and it accounted for 70% of all infostealer detections on Mac in the final months of 2024, an impressive feat considering the malware barely launched last summer.

Interestingly, Poseidon is just another “fork” of AMOS, meaning that another hacker took AMOS, built upon it, and released it in the wild. Already, Malwarebytes has uncovered consumer-targeted campaigns to infect Mac owners with Poseidon, including a malvertising website disguising Poseidon behind a download for a buzzy new web browser called Arc.

Poseidon represents a sea change in Mac malware, and with the type of advanced targeting that cybercriminals can achieve through malvertising—hackers can target malicious ads based on a potential victim’s location, operating system, software, and search terms—Mac users must be on watch.

****How to stay safe****

In 2025, Mac users don’t need to just watch out for infostealers. They also have to watch out for malvertising in general, as cybercriminals use the malware delivery method for all sorts of threats online.

Here’s how you can stay safe:

*   Use cybersecurity software that offers always-on protection against Mac malware including infostealers, adware, and the rare instances of ransomware.
*   Use Malwarebytes Browser Guard to securely browse the web and to be notified when visiting known, malicious websites that are in control of cybercriminals.
*   Beware the first, ad-supported result on Google searches and other search engines. Cybercriminals have successfully placed their own, malicious ads in these top rankings to trick victims into downloading malware.

**We don’t just report on threats—we remove them**

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

 Macs targeted by infostealers in new era of cyberthreats 

Google warns that hackers tied to Russia are tricking Ukrainian soldiers with fake QR codes for Signal group invites that let spies steal their messages. Signal has pushed out new safeguards.

For more than a decade now, Russian cyberwarfare has used Ukraine as a test lab for its latest hacking techniques, methods that often target Ukrainians first before they're deployed more broadly. Now Google is warning of a Russian espionage trick that's been used to obtain Ukrainians' messages on the encrypted platform Signal—and one that both Ukrainians and other Signal users worldwide should protect themselves against with a new update to the app.

Google's threat intelligence team on Wednesday released a report revealing how multiple hacker groups that serve Russian state interests are targeting Signal, the end-to-end encrypted messaging tool that has become widely accepted as a standard for private communications and is now often used by Ukrainians, including in the Ukrainian military's battlefield communications. Those Russia-linked groups, which Google has given the working names UNC5792 and UNC4221, are taking advantage of a Signal feature that allows users to join a Signal group by scanning a QR code from their phone. By sending phishing messages to victims, often over Signal itself, both hacker groups have spoofed those group invites in the form of QR codes that instead hide javascript commands that link the victim's phone to a new device—in this case, one in the hands of an eavesdropper who can then read every message the target sends or receives.

“It looks exactly like a group invite, and everything would function exactly like that, except when you scan it, it links the device out,” says Dan Black, a Google cyberespionage researcher and former NATO analyst. “It instantly pairs your device with theirs. And all your messages are now, in real time, being delivered over to the threat actor while you're receiving them.”

Two months ago, Google began warning the Signal Foundation that maintains the private communications platform about Russia's use of the QR code phishing technique, and Signal last week finished rolling out an update for iOS and Android designed to counter the trick. The new safeguard warns users when they link a new device and checks with them again at a randomized interval a few hours after that device is added to confirm that they still want to share all messages with it. Signal now also requires a form of authentication such as entering a passcode or using FaceID or TouchID on iOS to add a new linked device.

In fact, Signal had already been working to update those forms of phishing protections aimed specifically at exploitation of its linked device feature prior to Google's warning, says Signal's senior technologist, Josh Lund. But Google's report about Russia's spying in Ukraine provided an “acute” example of the problem that pushed them to move quickly to protect users, he says.

“We're really grateful to the Google team for their help in making Signal more resilient to this type of social engineering,” says Lund, using the cybersecurity term for tricks that deceive victims into giving hackers sensitive information or access to their systems.

Both Google and Signal emphasized that the phishing technique Google has seen in use in Ukraine doesn't suggest that Signal's encryption is broken or that the app's messages can otherwise be eavesdropped in transit. Instead, the trick essentially combines two legitimate features—QR-code group invites and QR-code device linking that pairs a smartphone with a laptop—invisibly swapping one with the other to deceive users. “Phishing is a big problem on the internet, and it's never nice to hear that someone has fallen victim to one of these attacks,” Lund says. “But we're trying to do our best to keep users safe, and we think these recent improvements will really help.”

Google notes that it's seen Russia use similar techniques to target other communications platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, too. But the hackers tied to Russia's military have focused on Signal because of its widespread tactical use in the Ukrainian military. One of the two hacker groups that has exploited the QR code phishing technique, for instance, has disguised the codes as invites to groups associated with an artillery guidance app used by the Ukrainian military called Kropyva. In other instances, the spoofed QR codes have impersonated invites to other groups from a trusted contact, or security alerts from Signal itself.

Russia's hackers have targeted Signal as part of the country's war efforts in Ukraine since as early as 2023, a year into its full-scale invasion, says Google's Black. That's when the Russian hacker group known as Sandworm, a notorious unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, began pivoting from disruptive cyberattacks to tactical espionage that included penetrating tablet computers used by the Ukrainian military. In some cases, Sandworm's hackers have also aided front-line Russian troops in off-loading Signal messages from captured devices, including by using the linked-device feature to pair compromised phones with their own PCs. Google says that Turla, a hacker group linked to Russia's FSB security agency, has also targeted Signal messages on PCs that it's infected with malware.

Google's Black says that the company's analysts nonetheless waited to highlight Russia's use of the QR-code phishing technique to target Signal until the Signal Foundation could push out new protections, in part to prevent other hackers from copying the technique. Black warns, in fact, that Russia's targeting of Signal in Ukraine shouldn't be seen as a problem limited to Ukraine nor to military conflicts in general. The trick is just as likely to be used for targeting dissidents and activists who use Signal worldwide, or even a broader set of targets. In December, for instance, US officials recommended Americans use end-to-end encrypted apps in response to the Chinese hacker group Salt Typhoon's widespread penetrations of US telecom networks.

“The use case for these techniques is just so wide," says Black. “We've seen history tell us a very particular story in terms of tradecraft, that the things that happen in Ukraine don't seem to stay confined there.”

A Signal Update Fends Off a Phishing Technique Used in Russian Espionage

Carding -- the underground business of stealing, selling and swiping stolen payment card data -- has long been the dominion of Russia-based hackers. Happily, the broad deployment of more secure chip-based payment cards in the United States has weakened the carding market. But a flurry of innovation from cybercrime groups in China is breathing new life into the carding industry, by turning phished card data into mobile wallets that can be used online and at main street stores.

Carding — the underground business of stealing, selling and swiping stolen payment card data — has long been the dominion of Russia-based hackers. Happily, the broad deployment of more secure chip-based payment cards in the United States has weakened the carding market. But a flurry of innovation from cybercrime groups in China is breathing new life into the carding industry, by turning phished card data into mobile wallets that can be used online and at main street stores.

An image from one Chinese phishing group’s Telegram channel shows various toll road phish kits available.

If you own a mobile phone, the chances are excellent that at some point in the past two years it has received at least one phishing message that spoofs the **U.S. Postal Service** to supposedly collect some outstanding delivery fee, or an SMS that pretends to be a local toll road operator warning of a delinquent toll fee.

These messages are being sent through sophisticated phishing kits sold by several cybercriminals based in mainland China. And they are not traditional SMS phishing or “**smishing**” messages, as they bypass the mobile networks entirely. Rather, the missives are sent through the **Apple iMessage** service and through RCS, the functionally equivalent technology on **Google** phones.

People who enter their payment card data at one of these sites will be told their financial institution needs to verify the small transaction by sending a one-time passcode to the customer’s mobile device. In reality, that code will be sent by the victim’s financial institution to verify that the user indeed wishes to link their card information to a mobile wallet.

If the victim then provides that one-time code, the phishers will link the card data to a new mobile wallet from Apple or Google, loading the wallet onto a mobile phone that the scammers control.

**CARDING REINVENTED**

**Ford Merrill** works in security research at SecAlliance, a CSIS Security Group company. Merrill has been studying the evolution of several China-based smishing gangs, and found that most of them feature helpful and informative video tutorials in their sales accounts on Telegram. Those videos show the thieves are loading multiple stolen digital wallets on a single mobile device, and then selling those phones in bulk for hundreds of dollars apiece.

“Who says carding is dead?,” said Merrill, who presented about his findings at the M3AAWG security conference in Lisbon earlier today. “This is the best mag stripe cloning device ever. This threat actor is saying you need to buy at least 10 phones, and they’ll air ship them to you.”

One promotional video shows stacks of milk crates stuffed full of phones for sale. A closer inspection reveals that each phone is affixed with a handwritten notation that typically references the date its mobile wallets were added, the number of wallets on the device, and the initials of the seller.

An image from the Telegram channel for a popular Chinese smishing kit vendor shows 10 mobile phones for sale, each loaded with 4-6 digital wallets from different UK financial institutions.

Merrill said one common way criminal groups in China are cashing out with these stolen mobile wallets involves setting up fake e-commerce businesses on **Stripe** or **Zelle** and running transactions through those entities — often for amounts totaling between $100 and $500.

Merrill said that when these phishing groups first began operating in earnest two years ago, they would wait between 60 to 90 days before selling the phones or using them for fraud. But these days that waiting period is more like just seven to ten days, he said.

“When they first installed this, the actors were very patient,” he said. “Nowadays, they only wait like 10 days before \[the wallets\] are hit hard and fast.”

**GHOST TAP**

Criminals also can cash out mobile wallets by obtaining real point-of-sale terminals and using tap-to-pay on phone after phone. But they also offer a more cutting-edge mobile fraud technology: Merrill found that at least one of the Chinese phishing groups sells an Android app called “**ZNFC**” that can relay a valid NFC transaction to anywhere in the world. The user simply waves their phone at a local payment terminal that accepts Apple or Google pay, and the app relays an NFC transaction over the Internet from a phone in China.

“The software can work from anywhere in the world,” Merrill said. “These guys provide the software for $500 a month, and it can relay both NFC enabled tap-to-pay as well as any digital wallet. The even have 24-hour support.”

The rise of so-called “ghost tap” mobile software was first documented in November 2024 by security experts at **ThreatFabric**. **Andy Chandler**, the company’s chief commercial officer, said their researchers have since identified a number of criminal groups from different regions of the world latching on to this scheme.

Chandler said those include organized crime gangs in Europe that are using similar mobile wallet and NFC attacks to take money out of ATMs made to work with smartphones.

“No one is talking about it, but we’re now seeing ten different methodologies using the same modus operandi, and none of them are doing it the same,” Chandler said. “This is much bigger than the banks are prepared to say.”

A November 2024 story in the Singapore daily _The Straits Times_ reported authorities there arrested three foreign men who were recruited in their home countries via social messaging platforms, and given ghost tap apps with which to purchase expensive items from retailers, including mobile phones, jewelry, and gold bars.

“Since Nov 4, at least 10 victims who had fallen for e-commerce scams have reported unauthorised transactions totaling more than $100,000 on their credit cards for purchases such as electronic products, like iPhones and chargers, and jewelry in Singapore,” _The Straits Times_ wrote, noting that in another case with a similar modus operandi, the police arrested a Malaysian man and woman on Nov 8.

Three individuals charged with using ghost tap software at an electronics store in Singapore. Image: The Straits Times.

**ADVANCED PHISHING TECHNIQUES**

According to Merrill, the phishing pages that spoof the USPS and various toll road operators are powered by several innovations designed to maximize the extraction of victim data.

For example, a would-be smishing victim might enter their personal and financial information, but then decide the whole thing is scam before actually submitting the data. In this case, anything typed into the data fields of the phishing page will be captured in real time, regardless of whether the visitor actually clicks the “submit” button.

Merrill said people who submit payment card data to these phishing sites often are then told their card can’t be processed, and urged to use a different card. This technique, he said, sometimes allows the phishers to steal more than one mobile wallet per victim.

Many phishing websites expose victim data by storing the stolen information directly on the phishing domain. But Merrill said these Chinese phishing kits will forward all victim data to a back-end database operated by the phishing kit vendors. That way, even when the smishing sites get taken down for fraud, the stolen data is still safe and secure.

Another important innovation is the use of mass-created Apple and Google user accounts through which these phishers send their spam messages. One of the Chinese phishing groups posted images on their Telegram sales channels showing how these robot Apple and Google accounts are loaded onto Apple and Google phones, and arranged snugly next to each other in an expansive, multi-tiered rack that sits directly in front of the phishing service operator.

The ashtray says: You’ve been phishing all night.

In other words, the smishing websites are powered by real human operators as long as new messages are being sent. Merrill said the criminals appear to send only a few dozen messages at a time, likely because completing the scam takes manual work by the human operators in China. After all, most one-time codes used for mobile wallet provisioning are generally only good for a few minutes before they expire.

Notably, none of the phishing sites spoofing the toll operators or postal services will load in a regular Web browser; they will only render if they detect that a visitor is coming from a mobile device.

“One of the reasons they want you to be on a mobile device is they want you to be on the same device that is going to receive the one-time code,” Merrill said. “They also want to minimize the chances you will leave. And if they want to get that mobile tokenization and grab your one-time code, they need a live operator.”

Merrill found the Chinese phishing kits feature another innovation that makes it simple for customers to turn stolen card details into a mobile wallet: They programmatically take the card data supplied by the phishing victim and convert it into a digital image of a real payment card that matches that victim’s financial institution. That way, attempting to enroll a stolen card into Apple Pay, for example, becomes as easy as scanning the fabricated card image with an iPhone.

An ad from a Chinese SMS phishing group’s Telegram channel showing how the service converts stolen card data into an image of the stolen card.

“The phone isn’t smart enough to know whether it’s a real card or just an image,” Merrill said. “So it scans the card into Apple Pay, which says okay we need to verify that you’re the owner of the card by sending a one-time code.”

**PROFITS**

How profitable are these mobile phishing kits? The best guess so far comes from data gathered by other security researchers who’ve been tracking these advanced Chinese phishing vendors.

In August 2023, the security firm Resecurity discovered a vulnerability in one popular Chinese phish kit vendor’s platform that exposed the personal and financial data of phishing victims. Resecurity dubbed the group the **Smishing Triad**, and found the gang had harvested 108,044 payment cards across 31 phishing domains (3,485 cards per domain).

In August 2024, security researcher **Grant Smith** gave a presentation at the DEFCON security conference about tracking down the Smishing Triad after scammers spoofing the U.S. Postal Service duped his wife. By identifying a different vulnerability in the gang’s phishing kit, Smith said he was able to see that people entered 438,669 unique credit cards in 1,133 phishing domains (387 cards per domain).

Based on his research, Merrill said it’s reasonable to expect between $100 and $500 in losses on each card that is turned into a mobile wallet. Merrill said they observed nearly 33,000 unique domains tied to these Chinese smishing groups during the year between the publication of Resecurity’s research and Smith’s DEFCON talk.

Using a median number of 1,935 cards per domain and a conservative loss of $250 per card, that comes out to about $15 billion in fraudulent charges over a year.

Merrill was reluctant to say whether he’d identified additional security vulnerabilities in any of the phishing kits sold by the Chinese groups, noting that the phishers quickly fixed the vulnerabilities that were detailed publicly by Resecurity and Smith.

**FIGHTING BACK**

Adoption of touchless payments took off in the United States after the Coronavirus pandemic emerged, and many financial institutions in the United States were eager to make it simple for customers to link payment cards to mobile wallets. Thus, the authentication requirement for doing so defaulted to sending the customer a one-time code via SMS.

Experts say the continued reliance on one-time codes for onboarding mobile wallets has fostered this new wave of carding. KrebsOnSecurity interviewed a security executive from a large European financial institution who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

That expert said the lag between the phishing of victim card data and its eventual use for fraud has left many financial institutions struggling to correlate the causes of their losses.

“That’s part of why the industry as a whole has been caught by surprise,” the expert said. “A lot of people are asking, how this is possible now that we’ve tokenized a plaintext process. We’ve never seen the volume of sending and people responding that we’re seeing with these phishers.”

To improve the security of digital wallet provisioning, some banks in Europe and Asia require customers to log in to the bank’s mobile app before they can link a digital wallet to their device.

Addressing the ghost tap threat may require updates to contactless payment terminals, to better identify NFC transactions that are being relayed from another device. But experts say it’s unrealistic to expect retailers will be eager to replace existing payment terminals before their expected lifespans expire.

And of course Apple and Google have an increased role to play as well, given that their accounts are being created en masse and used to blast out these smishing messages. Both companies could easily tell which of their devices suddenly have 7-10 different mobile wallets added from 7-10 different people around the world. They could also recommend that financial institutions use more secure authentication methods for mobile wallet provisioning.

Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment on this story.

How Phished Data Turns into Apple & Google Wallets

Cybersecurity researchers are alerting to a new campaign that leverages web injects to deliver a new Apple macOS malware known as FrigidStealer.
The activity has been attributed to a previously undocumented threat actor known as TA2727, with the information stealers for other platforms such as Windows (Lumma Stealer or DeerStealer) and Android (Marcher).
TA2727 is a "threat actor that uses fake

New FrigidStealer Malware Targets macOS Users via Fake Browser Updates

A list of topics we covered in the week of February 10 to February 16 of 2025

February 14, 2025 - A cybercriminal stole a reported 12 million data records on Zacks’ customers and clients.

February 13, 2025 - Scammers are once again using AI to take over Gmail accounts.

February 12, 2025 - Etsy sellers are being targeted by scammers that use a legitimate Etsy domain to host their dodgy PDFs.

February 11, 2025 - Apple has released an out-of-band security update for a vulnerability which it says may have been exploited in an "extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.”

February 11, 2025 - Android phishing apps are the latest, critical threat for Android users, putting their passwords in danger of new, sneaky tricks of theft.

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#android