Tecno smartphones accused of stealing user data & money

Tecno smartphones have been accused of stealing user data as well as money through preinstalled malware on its phones according to a mobile security service provider Secure-D and BuzzFeed News.

According to the reports, the Tecno smartphones are being shipped with preinstalled malware that works in the background covertly stealing not only user data but also their money.

This is mostly true for emerging martkets such as Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar and Indonesia where according to the report, Tecno W2 was shipped with two malware-laced apps.

Citing the experience of Hohannesburg resident Mxolosi, the report states that the user had a lot of trouble with his Tecno W2 with calls and chats getting interrupted through pop-up ads.

Mxolosi also said that he used to get messages regarding paid subscriptions he never signed up for which according to the mobile security service Secure-D was being caused by two malware based apps xHelper and Triada which secretly downloaded apps in the background attempting to sign the user up for paid services.

According to Secure-D, the company has reportedly blocked over 844,000 fraudulent transactions connected to Tecno smartphones during March and December last year.

Tecno smartphones spokesperson responds to accusations

However, a Tecno smartphones spokesperson did respond to all these accusations against the company shipping phones with malware blaming a vendor in the supply chain.

However, the spokesperson did not clearly reveal the identity of the vendor and declined to mention how many handsets were infected. Although, he assured that Transsion, the parent company behind Tecno did not benefit or profit from the malware in question.

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