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Undangan APK: The Wedding Invite That Steals Your Wallet

In Jakarta’s digital landscape, where WhatsApp invites are as common as traffic jams, a new scam is making its rounds back again into our lives and it’s dressed in celebration. The undangan.apk malware masquerades as a wedding invitation, but once installed, it turns your phone into a playground for cybercriminals.

Security analysts recently flagged a malware campaign using a file named undangan.apk (Indonesian for “invitation”) disguised as a digital wedding invitation. Kaspersky’s own threat research team has been tracking the undangan.apk campaign since 2024 and classifies it under the HEUR:Trojan‑Spy.AndroidOS.Agent.* family2.

How the Scam Works

“You get a WhatsApp message from a distant cousin. It’s a wedding invite—complete with a downloadable APK file. You click. Your phone slows down.”

The attack is deceptively simple. A message arrives, often from a spoofed or compromised contact. It contains a link to download an APK file labeled as a wedding invitation. Once installed, the app requests permissions that allow it to:

  • Read SMS messages (including OTPs)
  • Access banking apps
  • Steal credentials and personal data

Victims often notice sluggish performance, unauthorized transactions, or complete lockouts from their financial apps within hours.

Why It’s Spreading Fast

This scam thrives on cultural norms:

  • Trust in close communication where people are less suspicious of messages from relatives or well-known acquaintances including coworkers and friends on our contact list.
  • Widespread use of APKs: Many users are accustomed to sideloading apps for convenience.
  • Low awareness of mobile malware: Especially among casual Android users.

Here’s how to stay one step ahead:

  • Never install APKs from unknown or unofficial sources.
  • Disable “Install from Unknown Sources” in your Android settings.
  • Use trusted app stores like Google Play.
  • Verify with the sender before clicking any link.
  • Install mobile security apps with real-time scanning.

In a city where digital invites are the norm, it’s time we rethink how we RSVP. If an invite asks you to install something, consider it a red flag—not a celebration. The undangan.apk scam is a reminder that even joy can be weaponized in the wrong hands.

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