Google Play Store hosted 239 malicious apps that were downloaded 40 million times

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Security researchers have revealed that the Google Play Store had played host to malicious apps. The malware were downloaded over 40 million times.

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A report published by Zscaler ThreatLabz (via Bleeping Computer) reveals how hackers are using malware to target users on mobile devices. It says that based on Telemetry data that it analyzed, Android Malware has jumped by 67% year-over-year.

For those curious, last year Zscaler had discovered over 200 fake apps on the Play Store. During June 2024 and May 2025, this number rose to 239 malicious apps.

Many of these malware apps were distributed under the Tools category, masquerading as productivity and workflow tools. This resulted in the apps being downloaded 42 million times. The report points out that threat actors are now targeting mobile payments instead of credit card-focused fraud, with the help of spyware, banking malware, phishing trojans to steal financial information and login credentials which are used for malicious transactions.

According to the report, these Countries were most impacted by malware attacks: India (26%), United States (15%), Canada (14%), Mexico (5%) and South Africa (4%). Zscaler says that threat actors used an Android Void malware, to infect 1.6 million Android-based TV boxes, primarily in India and Brazil. A Remote Access Trojan (RAT), called Xnotice, was targeting jobseekers in the oil and gas industry, in the the Middle East and North African region. Adware is the number one threat with 69% of cases, while the Joker malware family dropped to 23% of cases from 38% last year.

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