A new Android malware has surfaced that’s pretending to shut of your device as a masquerade to steal data. So the next time you tap the ‘Power Off’ option on your Andy smartphone, you might want to get the battery off just to be certain  ! At least that’s how serious this new virus makes things look.Antivirus company AVG has identified a malicious app that fakes the sequence a user sees when they turn their device off. This consequently gives the rogue program the freedom it needs to go around stealing sensitive data. When an Android smartphone or tablet user hits the power button on a device, a fake dialog box is presented. The program then mimics the shutdown animation, so the device appears to be off. Thus, although the screen on the smartphone will be off and black, the device itself will be on.When speaking to members of the press about the issue, the AVG mobile malware research team said that the malware was able to make outgoing calls, capture pictures and as well perform other actions without pre-notifying the user.

Affects Rooted Smartphones

Apparently, not all Android gadgets are susceptible to this vulnerability. The malware requires the subject device to be ‘rooted’, or rather modified to allow comprehensive access into the system software. This puts a huge proportion of Android users who don’t root their devices in ‘safe zone’. Still, some OEMs of Android smartphones and tablets do ship their devices with that level of access, which potentially makes it a lot easier for this virus to get on board.Currently, the malware is unlikely to be present on the number one Android marketplace, Play Store, since Google frequently scans and drops apps that feature malicious functions. But this doesn’t take care of the fact that it could still be a candidate for one of the abundant third party Android app stores and marketplaces available across the web. Users are advised to observe similar behavior to this applications actions, and appropriately equip their devices with the latest update of antivirus software.