Google bans 8 cryptocurrency apps for fraud! Were you using any of them?

Users were reportedly lured to install the apps on their phones in hope of turning rich into a snap.

New Delhi: Google Play Store has identified and indefinitely banned eight malicious apps which claim to be offering cryptocurrency-related services. The tech giant noted that the malicious apps were misleading users by making fake claims. 

Users were reportedly lured to install the apps on their phones in hope of turning rich in a snap by using cloud mining services that the apps claimed to be offering. But in reality, it was nothing more than a scam, as not even a single app had any crypto mining operations. 

However, once a user installed the malicious app, he or she were charged anywhere between $14.99 to $18.99 as an additional fee that was falsely said to be boosting the income of users. Some of the apps, with absolutely no mining features, falsely claimed that the additional fee will improve their mining abilities. 

Complete list of apps banned by Google Play Store: 

1. BitFunds – Crypto Cloud Mining

2. Bitcoin Miner – Cloud Mining

3. Bitcoin (BTC) – Pool Mining Cloud Wallet

4. Crypto Holic – Bitcoin Cloud Mining

5. Daily Bitcoin Rewards – Cloud Based Mining System

6. Bitcoin 2021

7. MineBit Pro – Crypto Cloud Mining & BTC miner

8. Ethereum (ETH) – Pool Mining Cloud

Another monetising method that the apps were deploying involved displaying in-app ads to users, luring them that they will eventually earn more by watching them. Also Read: Now, avail Aadhaar services via SMS, check process to generate virtual ID or lock Aadhaar

In a blog, cybersecurity firm Trend Micro said, "These apps, which do not have cryptocurrency mining capabilities and deceive users into watching in-app ads, have affected more than 4,500 users globally from July 2020 to July 2021." Also Read: Google launches 'Be Internet Awesome' programme for kids safety in India