Unlike traditional malware that can be detected by Google Play Protect, these apps are designed to trick people into paying for premium services and watching ads, which makes them harder to detect. — 123rf.com
In a big crackdown, Google recently banned crypto Bitcoin Miner — Cloud Mining app from Play Store. Any such ban can have a huge impact as Google Play Store is the main source of earnings for many application makers for Android devices. Smaller stores from Amazon, Samsung and Huawei provide alternative sources earnings.
However, such action by Google happens when it suspects wrongdoing. Unfortunately, one problem that affects all app stores is the existence of malware, which can cause harm to users' devices including loss of data and privacy. With over three billion active Android devices, the potential for damage is quite high and many apps manage to slip under the radar, get into Google Play Store from where it gets downloaded by innocent people on their smartphones.
One of these apps that were banned by Google from the Play Store that managed to convince users it was a cryptocurrency miner app was called Bitcoin Miner — Cloud Mining. However, as security firm Trend Micro (which identified the threats) notes, the app would pretend to mine cryptocurrency and convince users that they should pay more for better mining services.
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