Android app billing scam – Check your account
Security researchers at Sophos have found that Android users are being charged exorbitant amounts of money by malicious apps if they don’t cancel their trial subscriptions.
Users delete these apps from their device, thinking this prevent them from being charged for the full product. However, these apps still charge them without their knowledge.
“The total number of installations of these apps, as reported on Google’s own Play pages, is high: nearly 600 million in total, across fewer than 25 apps,” Sophos said.
“A few of the apps on the store appear to have been installed on 100 million+ devices, which would rival some of the top, legitimate app publishers on Google Play.”
However, Sophos said it has good reason to believe that some of these install counts have been manipulated.
It also noted that user reviews show that these apps are drastically overcharging customers for their features.
“As we saw last fall, there were a wide variety of entertainment or utility apps, including fortune-tellers, instant messengers, video editors, and beauty apps. And just like last time, user reviews reveal serious complaints about overcharging, and that many of these apps are substandard, and don’t work as expected,” Sophos said.
Stay safe
Sophos recommended that Android users avoid installing these types of “free trial” apps which offer subscription-based charges after a trial period.
“Nobody likes to read the fine print, but if you do happen to install an app that asks you to sign up for a free trial, it pays to read everything on the trial prompt to make sure you won’t be charged lots of money for an app,” the company said.
“If you do happen to have a free trial, make sure you understand that merely uninstalling the app does not cancel the trial period,” Sophos added.
“Some publishers require you to send a specific email or follow other complicated instructions to end the free trial before you are charged, though you might just need to log into your Google Pay to cancel.”
“Keep copies of all correspondence with the publisher, and be prepared to share that with Google if you end up disputing the charges,” it said.
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