Beware Scare Tactics for Mobile Security Apps
Summary: Security consultant Richard M. Smith reported that while browsing a local news site on his Android phone, a full-screen ad warned of page errors and viruses and clicking anywhere on it led to a site selling SnapSecure, a mobile antivirus subscription billed at $5.99 a month. SnapSecure marketing vice president Michael Subhan said the company traced the ads to rogue marketing affiliates that have since been banned, though the ad linked in the overlay image still appeared live and redirecting to the SnapSecure purchase page.
What you should know: The ad reached Smith without any click on his part, twice in two days, and the affiliate program behind it is the same channel a vendor uses to push a paid security subscription - so the scareware a user sees may be funded by the company selling the protection.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
- Data Breaches
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