Bogus anti-WannaCry apps appear in Google Play

Fraudsters targeting Android users have been quick to exploit the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks by planting fake apps that claim to offer protection against the malware in the Google Play store.

Security vendor McAfee said multiple apps have appeared on Google Play in the wake of the WannaCry epidemic, and is warning users against downloading them.

A search on "WannaCry" by iTnews in Google Play found tens of apps aimed at Android users.

Most are simply guides with web pages, images, or text that tell users to patch Windows, but others claim to offer protection for Android devices against WannaCry.

While the apps are harmless at the moment, McAfee warned that attackers have subverted similar programs in the past for malicious purposes.

WannaCry or WannaCrypt only affects unpatched versions Microsoft Windows older Windows 10, and not Android.

One bogus app analysed by McAfee, WannaCry Ransomware Protection, claims it is an antivirus and a "patch for Android smartphone from WannaCry ransomware".

Far from delivering on the promised features, the app instead displays ads and tries to install other programs the user didn't ask for, McAfee said.

"All the “features” offered by WannaCry Ransomware Protection are fake; the only function in this app is a repacked scanner that can detect the presence of a few ad libraries," McAfee wrote.

Google has been alerted to the existence of the fake WannaCry apps.