New Android subscription scam
This is a scam that consists of subscribing Android users to paid services. Specifically, this campaign has been called Dark Herring and has used no less than 470 applications from Google Play. In total, more than 100 million users have been affected by this issue. In addition, this problem has affected victims from more than 70 countries.
The subscriptions They basically consist of paying a fee of about 15 euros per month. It is common when we install a Premium application or want an extra service that has a supplement in some tool that we use to edit photos, social networks or anything.
The problem is that users in many cases realized that they were paying for subscriptions several months later even. When they found out, they saw those fraudulent charges that they didn’t know what they really corresponded to.
This technique is mainly based on capabilities anti antivirus detection, through different applications that contained the malicious code and the use of proxies as URLs. Combining all of this, the victim installed a program that had the ability to sign them up for those subscription plans.
When installing the application, the antivirus does not jump. It automatically starts scripts to collect information about the victim’s configuration. You will get details like the language, the country you are in, etc. This way you can continue to the next step, which is basically assigning a subscription that suits that information. You will ask the victim to enter a phone number and enter a code you will receive by SMS.
What is the victim’s mistake
You will wonder what is the main mistake that all these users have made, but you will be able to get an idea after what we have explained. Basically the error consists of installing an application, even if it is from official sources and in principle safe, but give personal data without really knowing what it corresponds to.
In this case we have seen that there were 470 applications that were in Google Play. We cannot say that the victims have installed programs from fonts outside the official store. However, they have also made the mistake of giving their telephone number without really knowing the reason and, furthermore, enter that verification code they received by SMS.
How should you proceed in these cases? Common sense is very important. You must only install applications that you really know where they come from, what their function is and never give more personal data than is really necessary. You should always avoid making mistakes of this type.
In addition, it will be essential to have the devices updated to be able to correct possible vulnerabilities, as well as to install a good security program that is capable of detecting threats.
