EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Horror games can be fun, until they turn truly terrifying.

A team of researchers recently discovered that the game Scary Granny maliciously deployed malware into more than 50,000 Android devices. Fortunately, the corrupt code only affected older Android devices. Newer operating systems did not suffer damage.

The bulk of bogus games tend to be dysfunctional and come across as clearly crafted by amateurs. Sneaking a malware laced app into an app store demands deep technical proficiencies and abundant creativity. In this instance, the Scary Granny game was designed to mimic an existing, well-known game called Granny, and was reportedly fully functional.

Once downloaded, the game appeared innocuous for several days, until it unleashed its wrath. Pop-ups, disguised to mimic ads from major companies, would appear on users’ devices, trying to entice potential victims.

“A deceptive payment screen tried to confuse users into paying more than $20.00 for the full version of the game,” writes Forbes.

A pervasive phishing pop-up also attempted to lure users into divulging credentials for their Google accounts. In the case of a successful phishing attempt, users not only lost control over their account credentials, they also ceded control over information like their recovery email addresses, phone numbers, birth date, and more.

The game has since been removed from the Google Play store.

Get the full story from Forbes.