Google has removed eight allegedly fraudulent mobile apps from the Play Store, alleging that they were defrauding crypto enthusiasts by demanding fees for an unauthorized cloud mining service.
Fraudulent mobile applications have become a common way to deceive unsuspecting consumers, with a high success rate. According to Trend Micro’s recent investigation, eight Android apps were abusing cryptocurrency users by demanding a monthly charge under the guise of providing a genuine cloud mining service.
Further investigation revealed that the malicious Google apps appearing as crypto mining apps were tricking users into watching sponsored advertisements and paying for a cloud mining service that did not exist.
According to the article, users were charged not just a monthly price of around $15, but also additional fees for unlocking “enhanced mining capabilities.” Furthermore, some of the apps asked the user to pay a fee up ahead.
BitFunds, Bitcoin Miner, Daily Bitcoin Rewards, Crypto Holic, MineBit Pro, Bitcoin 2021, and Ethereum — Pool Mining Cloud were among the allegedly fake crypto apps. A crypto wallet service called Bitcoin — Pool Mining Cloud Wallet is also on the list.
While the above results were submitted to Google Play and the apps were supposedly deleted from the store, Trend Micro claims to have discovered countless other fake apps with over 100,000 downloads. According to the company’s research, there are still over 120 bogus apps in the Play Store:
“From July 2020 to July 2021, these apps, which do not have bitcoin mining capabilities and trick users into watching in-app adverts, harmed over 4,500 users globally.”
Google changed its ad policy on Aug. 3, allowing cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet services to sell their services to Google customers.
Advertisers must be registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as a “money services business” and with at least one state as a money transmitter or a federal or state-chartered bank company in order to participate in this campaign.
Initial coin offerings, corporations, and celebrities, on the other hand, are prohibited from promoting cryptocurrencies under the current rules.
On the other hand, TikTok, a popular social media site, has fully banned crypto adverts on its platform, similar to Google’s previous stance in 2018.
