Posted by Kaspersky’s latest report found that banking data theft attacks on smartphones tripled in 2024 compared to 2023. The count of Trojan banker attacks on smartphones surged by 196% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Kaspersky’s new report “The mobile malware threat landscape in 2024” released at Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, found that cybercriminals are shifting tactics, relying on mass malware distribution to steal banking credentials.
In 2024, Kaspersky detected more than 33.3 million attacks on smartphone users globally, involving various types of malware and unwanted software.
Banking data theft attacks
Trojan banker attacks on Android smartphones jumped from 420,000 in 2023 to 1,242,000 in 2024. Trojan banker malware is designed to steal user credentials for online banking, e-payment services and credit card systems.
Cybercriminals trick victims into downloading Trojan bankers by spreading links via SMS or messaging apps, malicious attachments in messengers, and directing users to malicious webpages.
They can even send messages from a hacked contact’s account, making the fraud appear more trustworthy. To deceive users, attackers often exploit trending news and hype topics to create a sense of urgency and lower victims’ guard.
“Scammers have started to scale down their efforts to create unique malware packages, focusing instead on distributing the same files to as many victims as possible,” said Anton Kivva, a security expert at Kaspersky.
“It is more important than ever to be cyber-literate and educate your loved ones – from children to seniors. Because no one is completely safe from well-crafted scams and psychological tricks designed to steal banking data,” added Anton Kivva.
Although Trojan bankers are the fastest-growing type of malware, they rank fourth overall in terms of attacked users share at 6%.
The most widespread category remains AdWare, accounting for 57% of attacked users followed by general Trojans (25%) and RiskTools (12%). The ranking includes malware, adware and unwanted software.
In 2024, cybercriminals launched an average of 2.8 million malware, adware, and unwanted software attacks on mobile devices per month. Over the year, Kaspersky products blocked a total of 33.3 million attacks.
In 2024, Fake Money, a group of scam apps designed for fake investments and payouts, was the most active threat.
Another major concern was modified versions of WhatsApp containing the Triada-type Trojan, a malware that can download and execute additional malicious or adware modules. For example, to display advertisements or perform other unwanted actions. These unofficial WhatsApp mods ranked third in activity, just behind a general category of cloud-based generic threats.