An urgent warning has been issued to smartphone users over a cyber bug that could hack bank accounts and wipe devices clean.
The bug can infect devices when files are downloaded.
Android users in particular are being urged to take extra care as cyber thieves are able to use vital data to steal money without even notifying the phone owner.
The threat, which has been seen by the security team at Cleafy, uses a type of malware named BRAYA to monitor users as they access their bank accounts.
Cyber thieve s can then use this vital data to steal money without the person ever knowing they've been hacked, reports The Express.
To make matters worse, once the attack has taken place the crooks then cover their tracks by forcing the device that has been infected to perform a full factory reset.
This will then delete everything that's stored on the phone and there's nothing the owner can do to stop it.
According to Cleafy, BRATA was first discovered by security researchers at Kaspersky back in 2019 with it targeting smartphone owners in Brazil.
But the bug has spread incredibly fast, with users in the UK amongst the next to be targeted.
The virus is also evolving at a rapid rate with new features that are making it harder to detect and more devastating once it infects a phone.
Although this attack sounds terrifying there is a pretty simple way to avoid becoming a victim of it.
It appears that crooks are distributing BRATA via a download and, unlike many other forms of malware, it's not yet been found on official app stores such as Google Play.
That means as long as files and apps are downloaded from trusted platforms, all should be well.
Care must also be taken when receiving a text or WhatApp that contains a link to file downloads.
Speaking about the new attack, Cleafy said: "A new BRATA variant started circulating last December. Our research shows that it has been distributed through a downloader to avoid being detected by antivirus solutions.
"The target list now contains further banks and financial institutions in the UK (new), Poland (new), Italy, and LATAM.
"According to our findings, we can expect BRATA to keep staying undetected and to keep developing new features."
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