HANOI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Over 35,000 smart phones in Vietnam have recently been infected by GhostTeam virus which is designed to steal passwords of Facebook accounts.

GhostTeam virus has been spread via popular Vietnamese applications on Google Play, according to Vietnam's leading computer security firm BKAV on Sunday.

Hackers put "clean" popular applications such as calendar, flashlight and compass on Google Play. When users install the applications, they would display security alerts such as phone slowdown and virus infection which call for the users to follow the displayed instruction.

If users do as suggested, GhostTeam virus will be installed on their phones, and steal their Facebook accounts' passwords.

Google Play has removed the applications so the number of smart phones infected with GhostTeam virus is declining, said BKAV.

By the end of 2017, Vietnam had 127.4 million fixed and mobile phone subscribers, down 2.1 percent against late 2016, said the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority.

Specifically, the number of mobile phone subscribers declined 1.3 percent to 119.7 million, mainly because the Ministry of Information and Communications tightened management over prepaid mobile phone subscriptions.