A 12-year-old girl in the Czech Republic initially reported the highly-tracked TikTok accounts that have sold apps for both Android and iOS devices. The apps called 'Wallpaper' or 'Shock Your Friends' are among the seven apps in question, which have earned about $ 500,000.
Through TikTok profiles, which these scammers have with around 300,000 followers, they have pushed new users to get apps by paying $ 2 to $ 10. Most apps do nothing but display constant ads.
The 'Shock Your Friends' app, for example, simply lets users shake their phone when a button is pressed, and this is an almost negligible functionality, given that for that "service" the user is being paid money.
Researchers estimate that the seven apps included in the scheme have been downloaded a total of 2.4 million times across the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store.
Jakub Vavra, threat analyst at Avast, said:
"The applications we detect are fraudulent and violate the policies of Google and Apple applications by making fraudulent claims about their functions, or by serving ads outside the application and hiding the original application icon immediately after its installation.
"It is particularly troubling that applications are being promoted on popular social media platforms among younger children, who may not recognize some of the 'traps' and fall prey to them more easily."
First, it should be noted that: If an application costs money and promises not to offer much in terms of functionality, chances are it is a fraudulent application.
Vávra added:
"Many of these apps offer basic or inaccessible things, like simple games that claim to shock players or buy wallpapers for $ 8, which is a lot, considering there are endless for free online and in other applications. "
Finally, parents are advised to talk to their children about the security of downloading these apps and to teach them the basics of digital literacy to help them understand these things on their own.
Source: Unilad
