This unofficial WhatsApp deploys a Trojan

Apps that attempt to imitate some of the popular ones are really not to be trusted. Thus, a false twin of WhatsApp poses a major risk to users.

And the consequences can possibly be catastrophic for an affected person.

A well-established application

What hides behind YoWhatsApp is not very good. This name hides an unofficial app that aims to mimic the functionality of the real Meta WhatsApp. Thus, this copy is regularly promoted via advertisements on other applications such as Snaptube (a video downloading tool) or Vidmate.

Unlike WhatsApp, YoWhatsApp gives access to new features such as being able to change the theme, lock chats or send messages to unregistered numbers. That is why it is very popular. Yet, once the user has granted all the different permissions (access to text messages, photos, etc.) on their device, the scam IM springs into action.

Very significant risks?

Kaspersky has spotted the presence of a Trojan called Triada within version v2.22.11.75 of the application. The latter is able to steal the access key to a person’s WhatsApp account (the real one, this time). The attacker can then take full control of the victim’s account. This means that the hacker will be able to write messages for you: an ideal way to send excessive spam and try to scam other Internet users in the process. It might even take out premium subscriptions without your permission.

Finally, even if all copies of WhatsApp are not inherently malicious, it is strongly recommended to ignore them by staying on the official application. And since spam is unfortunately very numerous on this type of messaging, do not click on a suspicious link.

Source : The Hacker News