Minecraft gets maliciously crafty

We all know(or not) that a lot of people play Minecraft. Be it a teen, a kid or a kid at heart. You Minecraft, I Minecraft, We all Minecraft. And, as usual with games, sometimes we just want that extra boost. Right? Like, We all want free in-game items, coins, gems, game cash, loots, etc., so we could be on that top player's list or just simply hoard all that good in-game stuff. Who wouldn't want that? You could even get that rare item that you always wanted. 

You might be asking, "How're we going to get all these?". Through cheats of course! Whoever said 'Cheaters never win' or 'Cheaters are Losers'? Like, duh! Cheaters can get whatever they want!

But! Minecraft Cheaters beware. There's a malicious Minecraft cheat app lurking around and you might just get it!

A discovered Minecraft cheating app contains a scareware named Android/FakeApp.AL.


How does it work?
After installing this cheat app it will create an app icon that looks like the official Minecraft game's app icon.

When launched, the user's screen will display 3 buttons(Start, Options, Exit) along with a whole page of advertisement banners. However, the buttons have no function implemented on their code.

Android/FakeApp.AL's advertisements and language will be based on the geographic location of the infected device

If the user clicks on any of the buttons or ads, the malware will display an alert pop up on the screen. The alert indicates that the user's device has been infected with a dangerous virus(which it actually has) and is given a 'fix' button below.

If the user clicks the 'fix' button, the malware will then redirect the user to a fake antivirus website(which looks a legit Antivirus vendor like G-Data).  

sample fake G-Data page

While the user panics about the said alert, the malware secretly prepares an SMS message in the system default SMS application. The prepared SMS message appears to be an activation of the antivirus product. The malware doesn't actually have a permission to send the SMS message so it expects the user to send it themself. If the user gets tricked into sending the SMS, the user will be charged 4.80 EUR a week.








Article Ref: http://www.welivesecurity.com/2015/05/22/scareware-fake-minecraft-apps-scare-hundreds-thousands-google-play/