eBay has pulled a China-made smartphone from its sales listings after the model was reported to come with pre-installed spyware.

On Tuesday, a German security company reported that the Android-operated Star N9500 sent personal information to a computer server based in China and that the Trojan virus could not be taken out. The report also said the malware was made to look like a legitimate Google app, BBC News relayed.

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The handset is still available on Amazon, but eBay said it was banning the smartphone globally. In an interview with BBC, an eBay spokesman said the ban was a "precautionary measure."

The Star brand is not yet popular, but some customers may have liked it because it closely resembled the Samsung Galaxy S4. In addition, the Chinese phone costs only a third of the South Korean model.

According to security firm G Data, it received reports from its customers about the spyware running in the background, virtually undetected by the users. The smartphone also installs additional apps without the knowledge of the user.

The malware allows the smartphone to remotely access personal and online banking data, emails, and text messages. It could even intercept calls and control the camera and mic, as well as block security updates.

Companies in Shenzen used eBay and other e-commerce platforms to sell the platform, but the manufacturer of the phone still cannot be traced, according to the Associated Press. If these were true, nobody is sure if the manufacturer itself was aware or not that the phone was being pre-installed with malware at its factory.

This is not the first time a Chinese manufacturer has been accused of producing and shipping gadgets with preinstalled spyware. In 2012, Microsoft reported that some PC makers in the country had loaded malicious programs onto their products.

In 2013, German company E-Plus also posted a report about some China-made Android firms containing SD memory cards that contained computer worm.

TagseBay, Star N9500, pre-installed, spyware, Trojan virus