Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
Report: 19% likelihood that your Android malware stems from adult dating scams
- A new report from PSafe concludes that almost a fifth of Android malware stems from adult dating scams.
- The other two prominent malware sources are fake giveaways and fake virus alerts.
- Common sense is your best defense against malware, but a robust security app doesn’t hurt.
PSafe’s Dfndr Security app for Android has over 100 million downloads from the Google Play Store, of which there are 21 million active users. The company recently released a report on the state of Android security in the first quarter of 2018.
The report in brief? Android users need to stop falling for the same old tricks.
The top three scams that Android users fell for the most in the first few months of 2018 were fake sweepstakes giveaways, fake virus alerts, and yes, fake adult dating sites.
The report also concluded that men are twice as likely to fall for scams on Android than women. However, women were more likely than men to fall for fake sweepstakes giveaways.
The type of scam that’s the most successful in duping the Android user is an old-fashioned fake virus alert. According to the report, fraudulent advertisements account for over 50 percent of all malware detections from the Dfndr Security app. That’s an increase of over 50 percent over the previous quarter.
PSafe CEO Marco DeMello told Tech.co that deceptive affiliate marketers use these fraudulent techniques to get their clients more conversions. PSafe finds that “the actual advertiser is often unaware that the partners they’ve hired to help them with growth marketing are leveraging these scammy techniques to boost numbers.”
Although scams surrounding adult dating sites dropped by about 13 percent as compared to the previous quarter, dating scams still make up about 19 percent of the total malware detections so far this year.
In these scams, users are redirected to phony adult dating sites that earn a click-through commission, or they are asked to allow notifications from a site that then encourages them to download malware.
Finally, the fake giveaways category made up about seven percent of overall malware scams on Android this year. In these scams, users are told they’ve won something of value, and are encouraged to download a malicious app, click through a bad link, or subscribe to a texting service that charges their service provider in order to receive the prize.
What’s the best way to avoid these scams? Common sense will get you most of the way there, but when in doubt a terrific security app – like those listed here – is essential.