The use of mobile devices had a considerable increase with the arrival of the pandemic, with this also the risk of being a victim of some type of fraud or the theft of your money or personal data.
In this sense, it is important that if you plan to use an app for entertainment and even to request financing, check that it is verified.
According to a report by the McAfee company, regarding mobile threats, it showed data on the detection of more than 65,000 fake applications, even in the application stores of both Android and iOS, known as the most secure and in which they were detected 17 malware-infected apps, all from the same developer.
“Hackers design applications that resemble the appearance and part of the function of real applications, making users believe that they are legitimate. Through these fake applications, they obtain permissions to access the information contained on your mobile device. The problem is that many people cannot distinguish these fake applications from a real one since they can be very similar, ”said the online loan company Kueski.
Figures from the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Condusef) show that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, there was a 22% increase in financial fraud.
Faced with such a situation, at the beginning of this year, the Senate of the Republic reported that due to possible fraud in banking operations, clients claimed 14.633 million pesos from financial institutions, from January to September.
Of that total, the Senate reported that the banks paid just over 5,000 million pesos to those affected.
In this sense, the Senate requested both the Condusef and the Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco) to reinforce protection, care and prevention measures.
Beware of duckling loans
Although there are various entertainment applications that can be a hook to commit fraud, the apps that claim to be financial to grant credits have also become a hook.
“Cybercriminals are adept at stealing the identities of established and well-known financial companies. You have to avoid falling into traps with rogue applications, as they could take control of your data including the phonebook, text messages, photo gallery, location, camera, calendar and other sensitive information that they can use to extort money from the person who He installed the application and his contacts in order to obtain the payment of a loan that they never obtained, ”Kueski warned.
What can I do about it?
Detecting a fraudulent application does not require the work of an expert, for this, Kueski made recommendations to identify a fake application.
First of all, he explained that you avoid downloading applications that do not come from the official stores (Play Store, iOS and App Gallery).
“The original configuration of your mobile device prevents applications from being installed from unknown sources, that is, it prevents the installation of applications that do not come from the official store. Do not modify this setting, unless you know exactly what it entails, ”he recommended.
In the same way, it advises to review the smallest details such as the logo and name of the app, to the opinions and comments found in the reviews.
“You have to look at negative comments and complaints after downloading the application, this is usually an unequivocal sign that the application may contain malware,” explains the company.
He also recommended reviewing the permits as they are the most important detail.
“Fake applications request authorizations that they do not necessarily require, make sure to verify the function of the application and that it matches the permissions it requests. For example, if a game or calculator requests permission to access your gallery or contacts, it is a red flag since it does not require them ”, he added.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx