Security News > 2022 > September > Experts Uncover 85 Apps with 13 Million Downloads Involved in Ad Fraud Scheme

As many as 75 apps on Google Play and 10 on Apple App Store have been discovered engaging in ad fraud as part of an ongoing campaign that commenced in 2019.

Prior to their removal from the app storefronts, the apps had been collectively installed more than 13 million times.

These apps, once installed, are engineered to commit different kinds of ad fraud, marking a significant step up in sophistication from previous variants.

These include spoofing popular apps such as streaming services to trick advertising SDKs into placing ads, serving out-of-context and "Hidden" ads via off-screen WebViews, and generating fraudulent ad clicks to profit off ads.

"In layman's terms, the threat actors code their apps to pretend to be other apps for advertising purposes, often because the app they're pretending to be is worth more to an advertiser than the app would be by itself," the company said.

As always, users are advised to scrutinize apps prior to downloading them, and avoid third-party app stores on the web that could harbor malicious applications.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/09/experts-uncover-85-apps-with-13-million.html