New Delhi, October 23: According to a report by IT security firm Sophos Labs, fake apps of leading banks in India may have stolen data of thousands of customers in the country. The fake Android apps, available on Google Play, target total seven banks such as SBI, ICICI, Axis, Indian Overseas, BoB, Yes Bank and Citi Bank, the report said.

These fake android apps lure customers by promising rewards, including cash back on purchases, free mobile data or interest-free loans on downloading and using their applications. People fall in the trap as these fake apps have the logo of respective banks which makes it difficult for customers to differentiate between the fake and original apps, the report stated. Ayushman Bharat Scheme: Fake WhatsApp Messages With Dubious Links Shared on Groups.

"Deceptive malware may have stolen thousands of Indian sub-continent bank customers account data or credit card numbers," Pankaj Kohli, threat researcher, SophosLabs, said. "Some are blatant copies of real apps, while a few are much more dangerous as they seed malware and steal data from user accounts," the SophosLabs report said.

When news agency PTI contacted some of the banks mentioned in the report, they said they have not come across any such fake apps. However, some banks have started an inquiry and also informed the CERT-In -- the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incident. Yes Bank said it has informed the bank's cyber fraud department about the matter.

Response from the country's largest lender State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were awaited. According to the report, bank customers should always use antivirus software, which provides malware protection and internet security to keep users protected and stop these fake apps from stealing data.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 23, 2018 11:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).