Cof one million users of the Play Store were cheated by a fake app that simulated the WhatsApp. Titled “Update WhatsApp”And published by a company called WhatsApp Inc., the app was represented by a unicode symbol that could not be viewed.
The fake WhatsApp came from a developer who pretended to be the official developer of the platform with the title “WhatsApp Inc“. Cybercriminals used tricks in Unicode to insert invisible characters in the name and to circumvent the security of the Google Play. Thus, although the titles registered in the system were different, they appeared the same for the victims.
According to users who downloaded the service, the fake app was not a messaging app. Instead, it served ads to encourage users to download other Android apps.
Fortunately, none malware was installed along with the app. The system only showed a list of other applications that could be downloaded by users. That is, the fake app was just a system to advertise other apps, taking advantage of the popularity of the true WhatsApp.
False WhatsApp has already been deleted from the mobile store Android. Before being deleted by Google, however, the app, denounced by Reddit users, was renamed "Dual Whatsweb Update" and the developer changed the name to "Live Update Apps".
