Authored by Dexter Shin
McAfee’s Cell Analysis Group found a brand new and energetic Android malware marketing campaign concentrating on Bengali-speaking customers, primarily Bangladeshi individuals residing overseas. The app poses as widespread monetary providers like TapTap Ship and AlimaPay. It’s distributed by means of phishing websites and FacebookFacekbook pages, and the app steals customers’ private and monetary data. The marketing campaign stays extremely energetic, with the command-and-control (C2) server operational and linked to a number of evolving domains. Whereas the assault methods should not new, the marketing campaign’s cultural concentrating on and sustained exercise mirror how cybercriminals proceed to adapt their methods to achieve particular communities. McAfee Cell Safety already detects this risk as Android/FakeApp. For extra data, go to McAfee Cell Safety.
Bangladeshi individuals residing overseas, significantly in nations resembling Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, and the UK, rely closely on cellular cash providers to ship remittances and confirm their identities for numerous functions. Providers like bKash, TapTap Ship, and AlimaPay are broadly used and trusted inside this group.
In 2024, annual remittances despatched to Bangladesh reached practically $26.6 billion, rating sixth globally and third in South Asia. This large move of cross-border funds highlights the financial significance and digital engagement of the Bangladeshi diaspora.
Determine 1. High Recipients of Remittances in 2024 (Supply: World Financial institution)
As extra individuals use cellular monetary apps, cybercriminals are discovering new methods to trick them utilizing pretend apps and phishing web sites. Many customers belief apps shared by buddies or household, and a few might not know find out how to spot scams. This makes them straightforward targets for attackers.
In Might 2025, McAfee’s Cell Analysis Group recognized a malware marketing campaign designed to use these situations. The pretend Android app impersonates well-known cash switch providers and steals private data such because the person’s title, electronic mail tackle, telephone quantity, and photograph ID (resembling a passport or nationwide ID card). It additionally makes an attempt to gather monetary information like card numbers by means of pretend in-app pages. Furthermore, the C2 server’s storage is publicly uncovered, that means that the stolen information could be accessed by anybody, which considerably will increase the danger of abuse.
Technical Findings
Distribution Strategies
Over the previous few weeks, these pretend apps have continued to seem, suggesting an energetic and sustained marketing campaign concentrating on Bengali-speaking customers. These apps are primarily distributed by means of phishing web sites that mimic trusted remittance providers, typically shared by way of pretend Fb pages.
Determine 2. Screenshot of a phishing web site
The web page is written completely in Bengali, mimicking a legit remittance service generally utilized by Bangladeshi expatriates. Under is a translated excerpt of the primary message proven on the touchdown web page:
Bengali (authentic):
আসসালামু আলাইকুম।
প্রবাসী ভাইদের জন্য সুখবর। যারা কাজের পাশাপাশি বাড়তি আয় করতে চান, তারা বিকাশ, ফ্ল্যাশলোড ব্যবসা করতে পারেন। সম্পূর্ণ বৈধ উপায়ে। আপনার হাতের মধ্যে রয়েছে মোবাইলের মাধ্যমে। মোবাইল ব্যাংকিং করুন খুব সহজেই।
English (translation):
Peace be upon you.
Excellent news for our brothers residing overseas. For those who’re seeking to earn additional earnings alongside together with your job, you are able to do enterprise with bKash or FlashLoad in a very authorized approach. Every part is inside your attain by means of cellular. Cell banking may be very straightforward.
Along with phishing web sites, the attackers additionally created pretend Fb pages that carefully resemble legit remittance providers. These pages typically reuse official logos, promotional photos, and even movies taken from actual monetary platforms to seem reliable. Nevertheless, the location hyperlinks on these pages level to phishing web sites internet hosting the malicious app.
Determine 3. Pretend Fb web page mimicking a legit remittance service
Pretend App Evaluation
As soon as put in, the pretend app instantly presents an interface that carefully resembles a legit remittance software. It helps each Bengali and English language choices and reveals realistic-looking change charges.
Determine 4. Preliminary UI of the pretend TapTap Ship app
Customers can choose from a listing of nations with massive Bangladeshi expatriate populations, resembling Maldives, Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Canada, and India, to simulate cash transfers to Bangladeshi Taka (BDT). These particulars are probably included to determine belief and make the app seem practical. Nevertheless, these screens function bait to encourage customers to proceed with account creation and enter private data. As customers proceed by means of the registration move, the app requests more and more delicate information in a number of levels. First, it requests the person’s electronic mail tackle and full title. Then, it prompts them to pick out their nation of residence and supply a sound cellular quantity. Subsequent, customers are requested to decide on an account kind, both “Private” or “Agent”, a distinction generally seen in actual remittance platforms.
Determine 5. Multi-step registration move (1)
Following this, the app reaches its most delicate stage: it asks the person to take and add a photograph of an official ID, resembling a passport, nationwide ID (NID), or an e-commerce verification photograph. This request is made within the native language and framed as a requirement to finish account setup. After importing the ID, customers are then requested to create a login password and a 5-digit PIN, identical to actual monetary apps. This step makes the app really feel extra reliable and safe, however the collected credentials may later be utilized in credential stuffing assaults. All of this data is shipped to the C2 server and saved, making it obtainable for future fraud or identification theft.
Determine 6. Multi-step registration move (2)
After finishing the registration course of, customers are taken to a completely designed dashboard. The interface mimics an actual monetary or remittance app, full with icons for cash switch, invoice cost, cellular banking, and even buyer help options.
Determine 7. The pretend TapTap Ship app’s important dashboard
The malware contains a number of pretend transaction interfaces. These screens simulate cellular cash transfers, invoice funds, and financial institution transfers utilizing logos from actual providers. Though no precise transaction is carried out, the app collects all entered data resembling telephone numbers, account particulars, PINs, and cost quantities. This information is then transmitted to the C2 server.
Determine 8. Pretend transaction screens that imitate actual monetary providers
C2 Server and Knowledge Exfiltration
All the data collected by the pretend app, together with credentials, contact particulars, and photograph IDs, is saved on the C2 server. Nevertheless, the server lacks primary safety settings. Listing itemizing is enabled, which implies anybody can entry the uploaded information with out authentication. Throughout our investigation, we discovered that one of many C2 domains contained 297 picture information. These information look like photograph IDs uploaded by customers in the course of the registration course of.
Determine 9. Publicly accessible listing itemizing on the C2 server
These ID photos embrace extremely delicate private data and are publicly accessible. If downloaded or misused, they might pose a critical privateness and identification theft threat.
Determine 10. Instance of a delicate photograph ID picture uploaded throughout app registration
Determine 11. Geographic distribution of contaminated gadgets
As anticipated, telemetry reveals exercise in nations with massive Bangladeshi populations overseas, resembling Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates. This aligns with the app’s concentrating on of Bengali-speaking customers by means of culturally acquainted language and visuals. The marketing campaign stays energetic, with new phishing domains and variants persevering with to seem. Given the evolving nature of this risk and its use of trusted platforms like Fb to distribute malicious content material, customers ought to keep cautious when encountering monetary service promotions by means of social media or unknown web sites. We advocate downloading apps solely from trusted sources resembling Google Play, avoiding hyperlinks shared by way of social media, and being additional cautious when requested to offer private or banking data. Utilizing cellular safety software program that may detect and block these threats can be strongly suggested.
Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
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