China is on the headlines for its privacy issues for a long time. Recently, the Indian government has also banned a lot of Chinese apps due to these concerns. But, their smartphone continues to trend due to competitive pricing and specifications. Now new reports from mobile security service provider Secure D and Buzzfeed say “Chinese smartphone found stealing money from users using preloaded malware”.
How did the Chinese smartphone steal money?
Well, the brand in question here is Tecno. Secure D reported that the brand is stealing money from its users by using preloaded malware on their smartphones. The malware found was xHelper which subscribed the user to paid services on secretly downloaded apps without their knowledge.
Reports, from Secure-D, say that they blocked over 844,000 fraudulent transactions between March to December 2019.
How are Chinese brands making a joke about user privacy?
They say privacy is a myth and well, it is at least according to the Chinese brands. Chinese smartphone found stealing money is not new. Almost all Chinese brands have been found, taking user data and selling it to other companies at some point. Let’s see some companies that were found violating the privacy of users.
Xiaomi is one of the most popular smartphone brands in India right now. But, allegedly the company has violated user privacy several times. “Xiaomi is collecting user data and sending them to remote servers” reported Gabi Cirlig, a White Ops security researcher. There were many other instances too when Xiaomi was alleged of stealing user data.
Let’s take into account companies that don’t make smartphones but apps. India recently banned Tiktok that was also allegedly sending user data to China. In 2016, BLU, a Chinese smartphone brand, was also accused of sending user data to China.
These allegations are just a fraction of the whole story of data theft and privacy myth. If as a user, you want to keep your data safe, then its best to stay away from Chinese smartphones.
If you are a chinese smartphone user, you must stay cautious. So, here is an article on “How to keep your data safe in a private, digital ‘home’ on the internet?” to help you out. If you have any other doubts or queries let’s known in the comments below. Like and share with all your friends who need to know the truth about Chinese smartphones.
