Google Play Early Access Abused to Push Thousands of Deceptive Android Apps

Researchers warn that threat actors are exploiting Google Play's Early Access program to push thousands of deceptive Android apps (fake casinos, reward apps, utilities and trademark imitations) promoted via social media and AI-generated deepfake ads; these lures generate ad revenue, prevent user reviews from warning victims, and are linked to distribution of multiple Android malware families (Hagaseca, Mantax Otax, StreamRat) and banking-trojan activity enabling data theft, remote control, financial fraud and ransomware.