Subj : Pig butchering schemes found hiding as trading apps on Google Pla
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Fri Oct 04 2024 11:45:05

Pig butchering schemes found hiding as trading apps on Google Play, App Store

Date:
Fri, 04 Oct 2024 10:39:54 +0000

Description:
The apps have thousands of downloads, but have since been removed.

FULL STORY
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Cybersecurity researchers have reported finding multiple mobile applications 
used in so-called pig butchering schemes, lurking on the official Google and 
Apple repositories. 

Pig butchering is a type of financial fraud in which the victims - called 
pigs - are first stuffed, before being slaughtered. In other words, the 
victims get led on for weeks and months, and their wallets drained and 
drained, before the fraudsters finally pull the trigger and disappear with 
the money, completely. 

The apps found by Group-IB are called SBI-INT (iOS), Finans Insights 
(Android), Finans Trader6 (Android), and have thousands of downloads among 
them, suggesting that many people fell for the trick. Bots across the world 

Pig butchering mostly targets cryptocurrency users. The fraudsters would 
usually assume the identities of beautiful young women, and would approach 
the victims in casual conversation, or even flirt with them. At some point, 
they would introduce them to a unique, hidden, or otherwise scarce, 
cryptocurrency trading platform that guarantees major gains for their users. 
In some instances, the victims were led to believe they would earn millions 
through the platform, and then ride off into the sunset with their newfound 
significant other. 

The platform is obviously fake, and built by the fraudsters as a way to steal 
the victims money. But the trick is to keep the ruse going for as long as 
possible. The victim is first invited to invest a little money, and then 
shown - through the app - their enormous gains. Obviously, these are all just 
numbers on a screen and the actual money is already with the fraudsters. 

The victim is then enticed to invest more and more, and by the time they 
decide to withdraw the money - its already too late. To make matters worse, 
the stuffing continues even after the victim realizes they cant withdraw. 
Sometimes, they will reach out to customer support (also scammers), who would 
tell them they need to pay a withdrawal fee. 

Both Google and Apple removed the apps from their repositories as soon as 
they were notified. 

The best way to protect against such scams is to use common sense - if 
something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. 

 Via BleepingComputer More from TechRadar Pro New pig butchering scam looks 
to lure in victims with fake gold Here's a list of the best firewall software 
around today These are the best endpoint security tools right now



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/pig-butchering-schemes-found-hiding-as-
trading-apps-on-google-play-app-store


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