PhantomCall Malware Disguised as Fake Chrome Apps Orchestrates Global Banking Fraud

PhantomCall, a variant of the Antidot Android malware, is being distributed through fake Chrome update droppers across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia; once installed it requests high-risk permissions and abuses Android accessibility and call-screening services, sends USSD codes, and blocks legitimate calls to silently hijack communications and facilitate financial theft, using social engineering and platform-bypass techniques.