Is there a way to thoroughly check my android phone safety?

[Android Central Question]

Hello Android Central,

I bought an essential phone from ebay, the deal was very good, around 309 dollars, which is very far from the 435 proposed on amazon for the same device. I found something that look like an open box, on ebay it was presented as new(others), specifically, the phone was new, but without the original package or accessories. The phone that I received is indeed new and looks perfectly, but I just wanted to make sure that everything is okay. I know that this sounds paranoid, but the idea that maybe the vendor injected some malicious software in the original apps crossed my mind. For example to extrapolate my bank passwords or credit card when I use my online banking app or pay with my cards. So I was wondering if eventually there is a program out there to run on the phone to check that everything is in place and nothing malicious is in the phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! A factory reset should get rid of any unwanted apps, unless the seller used some more advanced malware that installs to the system root (which I think is unlikely). Turning on Google Play Protect is a good way of keeping your phone safe; if that's not enough, install a trustworthy antivirus app like Malwarebytes.

 

[Rukbat]

If anyone injected software into the phone in a way that doesn't let it get uninstalled, reflashing the firmware would get rid of it. It's a lot of work, and if you don't know what you're doing you could end up with a useless phone, but if anyone went to the trouble of creating a virus that would last through that, you have more problems than your phone. (Meaning the government is after you, your calls are monitored, you're being followed, and you will be caught [at whatever you're doing that warrants that sort of surveillance]. If you're an average person, the phone is probably a refurb, or cheap for some other reason, and there was never anything on it to worry about.)