Phishing app finds its way onto Android Market

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A rogue phishing application has managed to find its way undetected onto Google's Android Market app store.

The app, posted by a user called Droid09, claimed to be a legitimate banking app from US firm First Tech Credit Union.

However, the bank has since denied even having an Android app, and said the utility is a scam designed to get users to hand over personal information. The app has since been removed and Droid09 blocked.

First Tech has issued a statement reassuring customers that “accessing your First Tech account from your phone’s web browser is completely secure”.

It added: "If you did download the Droid09 app,” the statement continued, “please remove it from your phone and take it to your mobile provider to ensure it’s completely removed."

“As a reminder, we don’t currently have an app for the Android phone.”

There's no indication as yet as to how many people downloaded and used the Droid09 app. Affected users have been advised to purge any other software associated with Droid09 from their phones.

The scare, which took place in December but only became public after First Tech's statement was publicised yesterday, will place considerable focus on the thoroughness of Google's review process when considering new apps to add to the 20,000 or so already available through the Android Market.

In the past, mobile rival Apple has been accused of being overly strict in its own process of vetting new apps – perhaps Google needs to take a leaf out of its book.

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