Squid Game Apps Infecting Users’ Phones With Malware

Netflix’s Squid Game has taken the world by storm, as it has now become the streaming platform’s most successful show yet. It was also said that Netflix paid $21.4 million for Squid Game. Being a big trending topic right now, it was certain the show was going to get parodied. Now it seems the show has gone viral in an unexpected way.

The South Korean survival drama has grossed more views than 111 million views already. Just a few days after becoming the biggest show on Netflix, the show earned almost $900 million for Netflix. It even had a council in English concerned recently.

As reported earlier, the show’s massive success and demand led to internet service providers demanding more money. This was due to a higher rate of bandwidth consumption. As expected, their demands were met with ridicule.

According to a report by the Sun, criminals in cyberspace have decided to take advantage of the show’s insane hype right now. It seems a new scam has been discovered by a cybersecurity researcher. An app for Squid Game-themed wallpapers, which was found on the Google Play Store, has been installing insidious malware onto people’s phones.

The malicious app titled “Squid Game Wallpaper 4K HD,” was available alongside hundreds of applications based on the show.  When downloaded, the technological Trojan horse would infect Android devices with Joker malware, which allows hackers to sign people up for premium services that the hackers can make a profit from.

Lukas Stefanko, a malware researcher at the security firm ESET, stated that the hackers were using the app to conduct “malicious ad-fraud and/or unwanted SMS subscription actions.” He alerted  Google to the scheme but by that time it was deleted, the malicious app had been downloaded 5,000 times.

Those who had downloaded the app before it got deleted are still susceptible to attacks. Techsperts advise people to remove the app immediately to nullify the threat. It seems popularity comes at a price and some fans might have paid dearly for it.

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