ANDROID owners have been warned over scam apps on Google Play that lure people in with grand claims of making lots of cash quickly.
An investigation by cybersecurity company Kaspersky revealed that the scammers behind these apps not only run off with people’s hard-earned money, but their personal data too.
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Researchers at the cybersecurity firm found a raft of Google Play apps promising daily profits of up to $9,000 (£7,100) with an initial investment of just $250 (£200).
They claim that users don’t require any technical skills and guarantee a risk-free experience.
Amid a cost of living crisis sweeping the UK and the US, an increasing number of people are falling for these types of scams.
Once victims have installed, opened, and submitted personal details into the app as directed, a message appears assuring the victim that the registration was successful and instructs them to await a call from a representative broker with further guidance.
The call then never arrives.
Instead, the phone numbers and emails are often sold on the dark web to other scammers who then barrage victims with annoying spam.
Senior malware expert at Kaspersky, Tatyana Shishkova, told The Sun that scammers often take note of the wider economic environment and culture trends before launching a scam.
Right now, this includes investment, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence (AI) related apps.
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“In the latest version of the scam app… the user just puts their data into the app and receives a call from the scammer,” she said.
“The scammer convinces them by phone to pay some money to get more later.”
There is almost always a promise of more money later if victims pay up, “but of course the user will not get anything,” she explained.
This technique of taking the scam outside of the app is what makes these schemes so hard to catch – because although they a technically malicious, they don’t install malware on your device.
In previous schemes where victims are redirecting users to phishing websites, cyber analysts are able to catch out the app by reviewing the dodgy website.
“It is much harder as there is no website,” Shishkova said. “You just receive a phone call from the scammer.”
However, there are some tips on how to prevent installing bank-raiding applications.
“First, the user should always check the reviews of an app from other users on Google Play,” said Shishkova.
Often the scammers use fake reviews using bot accounts to make an app seem legitimate.
“They leave five star reviews but usually all these reviews are almost the same and they do not provide any concreate information,” she continued.
“They just write ‘this is a great app’ or ‘ I received one $1million’. Something like that.”
Android owners should also check when an app was added to Google Play.
Shishkova said: “Was it added a week ago? Or a year ago?
“If the app was added a year ago and there no reviews about this being a scam its probably a normal app.”
But usually, if the app was added a week ago and there are no reviews from real users, or there are reviews saying that the app is a scam – then it’s best to pull your finger back from the download button, she said.
Next, users should research the apps developer to see if their other products – and other reviews – look safe.
“The user should check information about the developer of the app… the website of the developer, the email, also if there are more apps from this developer and if there is a website then the user should Google their reviews,” she said.
Finally, it pays to use a bit of common sense.
“The user should always think critically if it is possible that someone on the internet is offering them to pay a hundred dollar for $10,000 (£7,900) later,” explained Shishkova.
“Of course, its almost impossible.”
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