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Fake Apps for Windows Phone Trying to Steal Passwords

Don't download unless you're sure it's the real deal

Nov 21, 2015 19:21 GMT  ·  By
Double check before downloading an app these days
   Double check before downloading an app these days

They say Windows Phone is a tough nut to crack for hackers, but cybercriminals are always very creative when it comes to ways of stealing users' data.

This time, the Windows Phone Store is being hit by fake apps that are trying to get access to private information such as passwords. Most of these apps are using names of very popular Windows Phone solutions in order to convince users to download them, so don't click install unless you are very sure what you get is the real deal.

One of the impacted apps is Tweetium, which is currently the number one Twitter client on Windows Phone, and the developing team warns that users should not download the so-called “Tweetium Beta (free).”

“WARNING: There is a fake 'Tweetium Beta (free)' app in the Win10 Mobile store. DO NOT install it. It is a scammer trying to steal passwords,” their warning reads.

And it gets even worse. According to Neowin, the very same developer has managed to publish in the Windows Phone Store some other 30 fake apps using popular names that could trick people into downloading them, only to steal their account passwords.

Microsoft to remove them ASAP

Microsoft is already aware of these apps and should remove all of them any minute now, but it's still hard to understand how they actually reach the store given the fact that similar problems have already happened in the past too.

The number of spam apps and clones has always been a problem for Microsoft and the company really needs to address this as soon as possible, especially because it's very close to launching Windows 10 Mobile, its new mobile OS.

Windows 10 Mobile comes with a unified store that groups apps also developed to run on PCs as part of its universal app approach, so keeping malicious apps away should be a priority.