Bingo Mod A new dangerous program that steals from you and formats your phone
Cybercriminals don’t rest easy, and when it seems like they already have some malware or attacks under control, they open up another front. It’s like Hydra, that mythical monster that when you cut off one head, two grow in the same place.
The proof of this is that just a few months ago it was possible to take control of Chameleon and SpyLoan, two malware programs that were wreaking havoc on Android; now, a new threat has been discovered and it does its job using an old-fashioned method: SMS messages. What are we talking about? Well, BingoMod, a dangerous malware that can steal your money and even restore your Android device to factory settings if it manages to install itself on your device.
Thanks to a report from cybersecurity specialists Bleeping Computer, we know of a new threat that is causing damage to Android. The malware is called BingoMod, and it gets onto your device by following a malicious link in an SMS.
These SMS messages are distributed through mass distribution campaigns, such as when emails, your phone operator or other companies send you promotions. It is therefore difficult to pinpoint a specific number from which the SMS messages may have come. However, by carefully reading the text, you can identify these malicious SMS messages.
Now, how does BingoMod work? After receiving the message, following the link, downloading and installing the malicious APK, BingoMod will ask you for permissions to use Android Accessibility Services. In case you didn’t know, these services have very high-level permissions, providing you with complete control over the device.
By granting these permissions to the malware, it can easily access your login credentials on any platform, take screenshots, and even intercept your SMS. Likewise, it will allow the attacker to execute commands remotely at any time, which will give them complete control over your device.
Bleeping Computer warns that there are known cases where up to $15,000 has been stolen from the victim’s bank accounts. Similarly, it has been known to execute commands to factory reset mobile phones and the app is lost after the data theft goal is achieved.
Worse yet? Cybersecurity experts confirm that BingoMod is still in early development, despite being at version 1.5.1. The criminals behind this malware are constantly improving it, which leads us to believe that they are looking for bigger and more impactful attacks.
How to protect yourself? The main thing is not to download anything that comes to you via SMS or message from other platforms (such as WhatsApp or Telegram). And after that, do not give applications permissions that you do not know about.