Belgian police released a list of 8 dangerous applications. It is highly recommended to delete it immediately, or else your cellphone could be infected with the Joker virus.
Android applications are often the target of criminals to infect users' cellphones, the horror is that these actions are carried out without raising suspicion. Joker is one of the viruses that has been used for some time because it is able to trick the Play Store security checks.
The eight apps called the Belgian Police were first uncovered by cybersecurity agency Quick Heal. The app is currently being removed by Google from the Play Store.
But many users may still have it installed on their cellphones. Even though the application is really dangerous and must be removed from the cellphone as soon as possible.
List of Dangerous Apps to Remove Immediately
Auxiliary Message
Element Scanner
Fast Magic SMS
Free CamScanner
Go Messages
Super Message
Super SMS
Travel Wallpapers
The Joker virus is known to steal information from victims' devices via SMS messages, contact lists, and device info. Since it is a Trojan, it secretly interacts with advertising websites and also makes victims subscribe to premium services without their knowledge. This subscription service starts taking money from the victim's bank account.
According to a Quick Heal report, the Joker-infiltrated app will request notification access. The goal is for Joker to get notification data.
The app then fetches the SMS data from the notification, and requests Contacts access. When access is granted, the app creates and manages phone call permissions.
After that, Joker will continue to work without showing any visible malicious activity to the user. That's why Google even considers Joker one of the most troublesome viruses.
In early 2020, the company led by Sundar Pichai published a blog post calling the Joker one of the most persistent and sophisticated threats it has tackled in recent years.
Since 2017, Google has removed 1,700 apps infected with the Joker virus from the Play Store. But its existence is much wider, because Joker-infected applications are also found in Android application stores other than the Play Store.