New Android SpyAgent Campaign Steals Crypto Credentials via Image Recognition

Authored by SangRyol Ryu Recently, McAfee’s Mobile Research Team uncovered a new type of mobile malware that targets mnemonic keys by scanning for images on your device that might contain them. A mnemonic key is essentially a 12-word phrase that helps you recover your cryptocurrency wallets. It’s much simpler to remember than the typical complex “private key” it stands for. This Android malware cleverly disguises itself as various trustworthy apps, ranging from banking and government services to TV streaming and utilities. However, once installed, these fake apps secretly gather and send your text messages, contacts, and all stored images to remote servers. They often distract users with endless loading screens, unexpected redirects, or brief blank screens to hide their true activities. McAfee has identified over 280 fake applications involved in this scheme, which have been actively targeting users in Korea since January 2024. Thankfully, McAfee Mobile Security products are already on the lookout for this threat, known as SpyAgent, and are helping to keep your device safe from these deceptive tactics. Figure 1 Timeline of this campaign Distribution Mechanism Mobile malware that targets users in Korea is mainly spread through clever phishing campaigns. These campaigns use text messages or direct messages on social media to send out harmful links. The attackers behind these messages often pretend to be organizations or people you trust, tricking you into clicking on their links. Once clicked, these links take you to fake websites that look incredibly real, mimicking the appearance of legitimate sites. These deceptive sites usually prompt you to download an app, which is how the malware gets installed on your device. Be cautious and always verify the authenticity of any message or link before clicking. Figure 2 Fake Websites When a user clicks on the download link, they are prompted to download an APK (Android Package Kit) file. Although this file appears to be a legi