Kaspersky: Banking Trojans Soared 196 Percent In The Last Year

JAKARTA - Kaspersky's latest report reveals that the number of Banking Trojan attacks on smartphones jumped by 196 percent, from the initial 420,000 attacks in 2023, to 1,242,000 by 2024.

Furthermore, the report entitled The mobile malware threateneds landscape in 2024 which was released at MWC Barcelona 2025 also saw that cybercriminals changed tactics, relying on the distribution of mass malware to steal banking credentials.

For information, this Banking Trojan malware is designed to steal user credentials for online banking, electronic payment services, and credit card systems.

In its action, cybercriminals trick victims into downloading Banking Trojans by spreading links via SMS or messaging applications, as well as through malicious attachments on messengers, and by directing users to malicious web pages.

To deceive users, attackers often take advantage of trending news and topics that are being touted to create a sense of urgency and weaken victims' vigilance.

The fraudsters began to reduce their efforts in making unique malware packages, and instead focused on distributing the same files to as many victims as possible, said Anton Kivva, security expert at Kaspersky, in a written statement quoted on Sunday, March 9.

Although banking Trojans are the fastest growing type of malware, they are ranked fourth overall in terms of a 6 percent share of users being attacked.

Kaspersky found that the most widespread cyberattack was fixed on the AdWare attack by 57 percent, followed by generalized Trojans (25 percent) and RiskTools (12 percent).

Kivva appealed to the public to be smarter and educate loved ones. Because, he emphasized, nothing is completely safe from properly designed fraud and psychological tricks designed to steal banking data.