Fake app listings can be quite dangerous, especially if it’s a listing of a very popular app. It doesn’t get much more popular than Chrome, and that’s just what happened: a fake Chrome app managed to gain quite a few downloads in the Google Play Store.
Fake Chrome app managed to gain over 100,000 installs
This app managed to slip past Google’s protective scanning and ended up being listed on the Play Store. This app was located right above the listing for the real Chrome app, as you can see in the image below.
Before Google got around to removing it, this app managed to collect over 100,000 installs, which is quite concerning. The real Chrome app has over 10 billion downloads, but that’s not the point here.
Apps like these end up getting installed on phones, and then kick off remote Command & Control (C2) server downloads to get malicious code as part of an update. That’s what happens in most cases.
The app itself doesn’t make much sense
One Reddit user actually installed this fake app to see what it lookedl ike. Following that, he wrote: “after downloading it and opening it, I’ve been prompted with so many things including selecting a bloody avatar for no reason lol.”
He also added: “Upon finishing setup, it brings me to this page, wtf they didn’t even copy chromium and put some kind of tracking or info stealer they just put in some weird ass contact app with a ton of AI avatars.”
He also tried to chat using the app and managed to receive random responses. This app was originally uploaded to the Play Store as a game called ‘Ball Bounce’. The developer then quickly changed the name of the app to Chrome, and changed the icon to match the original Chrome app.
Ball Bounce appeared on the Play Store on August 22 and became a fake Chrome app on September 30.
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