10 million Samsung users affected by a fake firmware update app

After the Galaxy Fold scandal, whose arrival is not yet known, and its recent appearance in the media for its fraud over the water resistance of its Galaxy smartphones, the South Korean company is the protagonist of more bad news. But this time the problem isn’t yours. A fake app promising firmware and operating system upgrades has scammed more than 10 million Samsung users.

“Updates for Samsung” is the name of the app that actually redirected smartphone owners to an advertising-infested website where they were also charged for firmware downloads. The news breaks thanks to our colleagues at ZDNet, who also collect statements from Aleksejs Kuprins, a malware analyst with the CSIS Security Group. “I’ve contacted the Google Play Store and asked them to consider removing this application,” he told the media.

The application offers free and paid Samsung updates. The free, Kuprins found, had limited download capacity to 56 KBps and ended up running out, taking users into a dead end where they were asked for $34.99 to purchase the annual premium package to download any file.

So far, despite the request, the Google Play Store has not withdrawn the application. And that also breaks the rules of Google’s app store, as it uses its own payment system and not the official Play Store.

Although “Updates for Samsung” is not malware, it is a completely fraudulent application that scams anyone who downloads it. And it has already affected a lot of Samsung owners by taking advantage of non-expert users who are looking to have their smartphone up to date without having to worry.

Are you one of those affected by this fraudulent app? If so, tell us about your experience in the comments.