China’s Internet watchdog Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has moved to shut down thousands of malicious apps that have been found to be fooling users by impersonating major brands and government agencies. ..
“Since the beginning of this year, CAC’s fraud prevention center has investigated and cracked down on 42,000 counterfeit apps,” the organization said in a statement.
This brings the total number of banned apps to 514,000 and the number of blocked websites is now over 3.8 million. Register Report.
Malicious app
In most cases, scammers impersonated major brands such as JD. At times, apps will tempt victims to buy products at cheaper prices than available elsewhere, and at times will advertise amazing investment opportunities. In other cases, it only infects the victim with malware. (Opens in a new tab)..
But it ends in the same way every time. Victims lose money. The CAC says that as a result of these plans, individuals lost somewhere between $ 1,500 and $ 60,000.
Users are advised to download the app only to endpoints (Opens in a new tab) From official sources and to verify all identities before sending money or trying to buy anything.
according to Of the register The Chinese government has reportedly not tolerated any crime or corruption, but this does not prevent criminals from engaging in illegal activities. Of the various types of scams, scams done via phone or email are the most common.
For example, in 2019, the popular Chinese Android app VidMate secretly hijacked people’s smartphones to use additional data, charge unnecessary fees, and collect personal information. It was discovered. This app has been downloaded more than 500 million times.
The software hidden within the app delivered invisible ads, generated fake clicks and purchases, installed suspicious apps without consent, and collected user data. In addition, it ran out of user data capacity and resulted in additional unnecessary charges.
Watch the video here: China crushes thousands of malicious mobile apps with fraud prevention drives
