Fake Samsung firmware update app tricks more than 10 million Android users

guest · Jul 4, 2019

Fake Samsung firmware update app tricks more than 10 million Android users
"Updates for Samsung" app promises firmware updates but only shows ads and wants money for (working) downloads
July 4, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/fake-...pp-tricks-more-than-10-million-android-users/

Over ten million users have been duped in installing a fake Samsung app named "Updates for Samsung" that promises firmware updates, but, in reality, redirects users to an ad-filled website and charges for firmware downloads.

"I have contacted the Google Play Store and asked them to consider removing this app," Aleksejs Kuprins, malware analyst at the CSIS Security Group, told ZDNet today in an interview, after publishing a report on the app's shady behavior earlier today.
The app takes advantage of the difficulty in getting firmware and operating system updates for Samsung phones, hence the high number of users who have installed it.
NOT MALWARE, BUT FRAUDULENT AND A SCAM
All in all, the app is not malware in the traditional meaning of the word, as it does not perform any malicious actions on the user's behalf, or without his consent. The better words for its mode of operation are "scam," "fraudulent," or "adware."
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chrisretusn · Jul 5, 2019

Seriously, if you own a Samsung (I do), it just not smart to install an App for this. I see no difficulty in getting updates.

Floyd 57 · Jul 5, 2019

This is hilarious, when you make updates so difficult for your own phones that your users cannot resist to install a simple app that promises them updates, this is a good lesson for Samsung

roger_m · Jul 5, 2019

@Floyd 57 My experience with Samsung phones and tables, is that there is nothing difficult about updating them. This app is just taking advantage of gullible users,

guest · Jul 6, 2019

Critical Warning Issued Regarding 10 Million Samsung Phone Updates
July 5, 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveyw...d-regarding-10-million-samsung-phone-updates/

Installing firmware updates is recommended not only to ensure your device is running with all the latest features and at peak efficiency, but also for reasons of security

According to Kuprins, the fact that the app was named "Updates for Samsung" and made available through the official app store for Android users, which is often but wrongly assumed to be a depository of perfectly safe apps only, was the key to its success.
"It would be wrong to judge people for mistakenly going to the official application store for the firmware updates after buying a new Android device," Kuprins said [...]
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Updated July 6
A spokesperson for the developer of the Updates for Samsung app, a company called Updato, has now contacted me with regards to this story.

Updato says that there "is a community of people (techies) who like to mod their phones with different versions of Android firmware from different release dates, versions, carriers and countries around the globe." Finding these is difficult, the spokesperson insists, and so the Updates for Samsung app "aggregates them for the convenience of our audience."

Updato insists that the app was "never intended for the typical Android phone owner to update their phones with the standard, latest firmware." [...]
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