Beware, fake Blue Whale apps and malware are targeting your personal data

Too much curiosity about the Blue Whale Challenge may kill your phone. Cyber experts warn that a number of fictitious mobile phone apps and computer malware are lurking in the Web to feast on personal data by luring a user to download the online suicide game.

The lethal game is not available on any website or downloadable through an app.

"I have done extensive search online but all one can find is either dubious links or malicious apps that will get downloaded on your phone and take control over it secretly, leading to loss of data or personal details," said Ishaan Sinha, a cyber crime investigator.

Sinha said he scanned over 70 such links on several forums but all were found to be fake. Only a handful of users in the country claim to have experienced the game even though the fatal online challenge is blamed for several teenage suicides across the globe, including India. The administrator of the game is believed to use a social media platform to invite/incite the players, which may eventually lead to extreme steps like suicide.

GOVERNMENT BAN

The government has recently banned the dangerous game, which reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to the player by administrators during a 50-day period.

Cyber investigators have got several complaints where a user downloaded the game which claimed to give access to the Blue Whale Challenge, but instead it started stealing data from the mobile phone.

"I had read that one can't quit if they sign up for the game. I wanted to give it a try to see how difficult the challenge can be and how does the user interface looks like," said animation designer Harsh Vardhan.

"I found the link of the app, which was download by several users, on an online forum. So I downloaded it anticipating that I will be contacted by the developer. But in a few days, I noticed that some suspicious files were being created in my phone's file manager. Suddenly, the battery started draining and data usage increased. I also noticed some screenshots and pictures stored in the phone which I never took and were later automatically deleted. It was found that the app was connected through a foreign server."

"In one of the cases, I found the app bundled with remote access tool (RAT) which was secretly recording calls, sending pictures and even giving access to contact and messages. Intention of these apps are only to steal data, so it is advisable to avoid looking for the game," Sinha said.

DANGEROUS HASHTAGS

Several recent cases of suicides and accidents were attributed to the deadly game but in a few cases concrete proof could be gathered. "The Blue Whale Challenge has become a taking point in the past couple of months. This has made everyone curious and people have started searching for it online," he said.

Driven by a series of hashtags connected with the game, the curators apparently spot their victims based on their posts on different online forums. Only way to reach out to the game is through searching it on various forums via hashtags.

The ministry of electronics and information technology had directed Internet giants Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately remove the links of the online game.

Social networking giant Instagram and Facebook have come up with measures where a user is directed to a help page when they search for hashtags related to the Blue Whale Challenge.

"Posts with words or tags you're searching for often encourage behaviour that can cause harm and even lead to death. If you're going through something difficult, we'd like to help," reads the page on Instagram. It gives a user three options - 'Talk to a friend', 'Contact a helpline' and 'Get tips and support'.