The Munich police are currently alerting the public to a horrible fraud involving smartphone software that has access to and control over online banking applications.

The app entered the victims’ devices through the app stores with the simple name “PDF AI”.

The app charts have been displaying AI excitement for months. This technique is used more frequently by cybercriminals to install malware on customers’ smartphones.

The “PDF AI” app, which merely looks to function as an AI PDF assistant, is a comparable example. The software accesses online banking apps, puts new malware onto the device in the background, stops the smartphone from being turned off and reset, and loads more malware. It is also apparent that the programme consumes a significant amount of battery life in the background.

The thieves have successfully withdrawn several thousand euros from the Opera’s bank accounts in several instances.

Even after opening a new current account for one user, the criminals moved tens of thousands of euros to a different person from that account. The bank may still halt the transfers, though.

In the meantime, the app has been removed from the usual app stores, but it could have already settled unnoticed on numerous smartphones.

Therefore, if in doubt, the police advise examining the bank account for abnormal activity using a different device. The police offer specific safety advice in the app store:

You should only download apps from well-known publishers and carefully check whether they are genuine and legitimate software. Since positive reviews can also be fake, you should also research the experiences of other users.