A fake Bankia app appears in the Google Play Store

In theory, the applications that manage to gain a foothold in the Google Play Store have previously passed the security controls that Google establishes for applications aimed at Android. But time and facts have shown that this is not always the case. Now a fake Bankia app has been detected in the official Google app store

The National Institute of Cybersecurity has warned of the existence of a fraudulent app, that impersonates the official Bankia app, and in whose trap many users may have fallen.Not surprisingly, banking applications are increasingly popular and the official application of this entity has more than a million downloads.

The objective of this fraud was, logically, to capture the personal data of Bankia customers, starting with their username and passwordThanks to this victim's information, criminals would have the opportunity to access all the operations of their bank account.

As if this were not enough, the fraudulent application would be perfectly capable of accessing personal data stored on the mobile and carrying out certain actions, after having obtained permission from users as soon as it is installed on the computer.

How is Bankia's fraudulent application

The fraudulent application that wanted to impersonate the official Bankia application was called Bankia Particulares Although it is no longer available (Google has withdrawn it, of course), the application page offered clues that could easily help us to suppose that it was a fraud.

For example, to install it, users were asked for different permissions, such as access to mail, to the messaging, sending and receiving SMS, which can be used by cybercriminals to subscribe the user to Premium services. Keep in mind that this type of permission is not necessary for an application from a bank.

But there are other signs to pay attention to (also for the future). The app had hardly any comments, and the ones that were included seemed clearly fake. With very little truthful textsThe developer's email contact doesn't exist either, and the developer doesn't have any other published apps either, which is also quite strange.

Note, on the other hand, that the image of the application contains a label that reads 'new' and that is not usually appear (at all) in serious applications such as banking. Finally, it should be noted that the privacy policy link links to a page that is not Bankia's and that the entity had not communicated the existence of a new application through any means.

In the face of all these clues, the most prudent thing is not to download anything. Or, if we have fallen into the trap, do not enter personal data in the application.

What to do if I have fallen into the trap of Bankia's fraudulent app

If you have downloaded this application and entered your login details, you have to contact your Bankia branch directly or through the customer service numbers. In this way, they will be in charge of managing what happened, checking your account and resetting your accesses again.

For future occasions, be sure to:

• Only download apps from the official Google store.
• If you have any doubts, as in this case, check the existence of this application with the official website of the company, administration or entity bank.
• Check the ratings. If they're weird and suspiciously extol the app, be wary.
• Protect your devices with security solutions that help you avoid this type of setback. On the Internet User Safety Office page you have different recommended free proposals.