A new Android malware threat has been discovered that holds the Android device hostage for a fee. A video follows showing how the threat works.
Android Defender Platinum comes from third party app stores or is installed from an insecure website. It fall under the category of FakeAV software. The app pretends to scan your Android for malware. It shows malware infections and then requests that you pay $129 for an activation key or $89 for the developer version.
If you tap "continue unprotected," the app will continue to show pop-up and signs of infection. The app claims you are leaking private data and continues to ask for money.
In June it was rated by Symantec as
- Wild Level: Low.
- Number of Infections: 0 - 49.
- Number of Sites: 0 - 2.
- Geographical Distribution: Low.
- Threat Containment: Easy.
- Removal: Easy.
Symantec noted that many users will not have the capability to uninstall the malicious app because the malware will attempt to prevent other apps from being launched. The threat will also change the settings of the operating system. In some cases users may not even be able to perform a factory data reset on the device and will be forced to do a hard reset.