Shocking spike in cruel new Google scam cases – don't become the next victim!
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Google is arguably the most used and famous search engine known today. Not only is it user-friendly, but it’s also so powerful that you can type anything in your browser, and millions of search results will come up in mere seconds.
But as advanced as it is in terms of technology, Google can also host scam websites dedicated to tricking people out of their hard-earned money.
In line with this, the tech giant warns everyone to stay vigilant after discovering two scams involving its applications: Google Pay and Google Play.
Times have changed – technology plays a massive role in our day-to-day activities.
But as applications and social media platforms progress, so do the number of sophisticated scams entering the market.
GOOGLE PAY SCAM:
Animal lovers across Australia have been warned to watch out for scammers using Google Pay after an alarming spike in cases.
Those looking to buy pets are particularly vulnerable to this cruel scam, as scammers use cute images of puppies and kittens to reel in unsuspecting victims.
Millions believe they’re clicking on real advertisements to buy a new furry friend on a legitimate-looking website. However, once the transaction has been completed, the customer will never hear from the ‘owners’ again.
‘A scammer creates a fake advertisement for a puppy or another type of pet. If you contact them, they may request that you send payment before they deliver the animal. Then, if you pay, you will never receive the puppy or pet,’ Google warned.
They continued: ‘With Google Pay, you can send money to or receive money from family and friends you trust. Sometimes, bad actors might try to use Google Pay to steal money from you. Do not make purchases using money transfers. You could lose your money without ever getting what you paid for.’
For Android users using Google Pay, retrieving the funds is impossible once a transfer has been completed.
The scammers behind these cyber crimes set up fake websites, advertisements, online classifieds, and social media posts pretending to sell popular dog breeds, according to Companion Animal Network Australia (CAN).
‘Scam websites can look quite convincing – try not to fall for the adorable puppy pictures they post. To avoid being scammed, only buy or adopt a pet you can meet in person,’ the organisation warned.
They also shared that the photos used in these scams have been taken online. Doing a reverse image search could confirm the legitimacy of the offer.
To do a reverse image search, go to images.google.com, click the camera icon, and either paste the image link (or URL link) for an image you’ve seen online or download the photo from the puppy post and upload it to the browser.
‘Do a reverse text and image search for the pet being advertised. If the search returns a match on multiple websites, you’re likely dealing with a scam,’ Victoria Police advise.
The scammers can even go as far as stealing the identity of trusted canine professionals.
‘I’m a legitimate business, and scammers used my name, ABN and even superimposed my name on someone else’s Tasmanian driver’s licence to show buyers as evidence,’ Lesley, a dog groomer, told CAN.
‘I also discovered 36 bank accounts with my name linked to them. Some people have lost money. The saddest part is getting innocent people and tugging at their hearts for a puppy, and I am unknowingly part of that,’ said Lesley.
This scam is not new. Previously, Victoria Police warned everyone that scammers have been asking for cash deposits to be made into a bank account after ‘buying’ a puppy. These deposits are supposed to cover transport, insurance, and registration fees.
However, after the victim makes the payments, they would then be asked for more money, with scammers coming up with all sorts of excuses, such as needing extra equipment. You can read more details here.
The next one is not a scam that involves money but instead involves unauthorised data collection.
GOOGLE PLAY SCAM:
Google also warned against a new Android malware named ‘Goldoson’ and said that it had infiltrated Google Play – which is a digital distribution service operated by the tech giant – and is now affecting 60 legitimate apps. These apps have 100 million downloads collectively.
The malicious malware component is part of a third-party library used by all sixty apps. It was reported that the developers unknowingly added this component to their apps.
Some of the apps affected are:
According to McAfee, a computer security software company that discovered Goldoson, the malware can collect data on installed apps, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth-connected devices and the user’s GPS locations.
Additionally, it can perform ad fraud by clicking ads in the background without the user's consent.
When users have launched an app that contains Goldoson, their online library registers the device and receives its configuration from a remote server whose domain is muddied.
This manipulates which data-stealing and ad-clicking features Goldoson should run on the victim’s device and how often.
Typically, this data collection function is set to activate every two days, sending to the remote server a list of installed apps, location history, and more.
The level of data collected would depend on the permissions granted to the infected app during its installation and the Android version. Android 11 and above are better protected against data collection; however, McAfee found that even in recent versions of the operating system, Goldoson had enough permissions to gather sensitive data in 10 per cent of the apps.
The victim does not see any indication of this activity on their device.
Luckily, the experts at McAfee have alerted both Google and the developers of the affected app of the malware. Many of the affected apps have been cleaned by the developers and have since been removed from the library. The developers who didn’t or weren’t able to respond to Google had their apps removed from Google Play for non-compliance with their policies.
‘The safety of users and developers is at the core of Google Play. When we find apps that violate our policies, we take appropriate action. We have notified the developers that their apps are in violation of Google Play policies, and fixes are needed to come into compliance,’ Google told reporters.
Common signs of adware and malware infection include device heating up, battery draining quickly, and unusually high internet data usage even when the device is not in use. You can mitigate the risks by applying the latest available update for your apps.
Let's all be careful and keep an eye out for any scams! Do you have any other tips to prevent these kinds of scams? Maybe you regularly delete unused apps? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
But as advanced as it is in terms of technology, Google can also host scam websites dedicated to tricking people out of their hard-earned money.
In line with this, the tech giant warns everyone to stay vigilant after discovering two scams involving its applications: Google Pay and Google Play.
Times have changed – technology plays a massive role in our day-to-day activities.
But as applications and social media platforms progress, so do the number of sophisticated scams entering the market.
GOOGLE PAY SCAM:
Animal lovers across Australia have been warned to watch out for scammers using Google Pay after an alarming spike in cases.
Those looking to buy pets are particularly vulnerable to this cruel scam, as scammers use cute images of puppies and kittens to reel in unsuspecting victims.
Millions believe they’re clicking on real advertisements to buy a new furry friend on a legitimate-looking website. However, once the transaction has been completed, the customer will never hear from the ‘owners’ again.
There is an alarming upsurge in scam cases, Google warns. Credit: Tara Winstead/Pexels
‘A scammer creates a fake advertisement for a puppy or another type of pet. If you contact them, they may request that you send payment before they deliver the animal. Then, if you pay, you will never receive the puppy or pet,’ Google warned.
They continued: ‘With Google Pay, you can send money to or receive money from family and friends you trust. Sometimes, bad actors might try to use Google Pay to steal money from you. Do not make purchases using money transfers. You could lose your money without ever getting what you paid for.’
For Android users using Google Pay, retrieving the funds is impossible once a transfer has been completed.
The scammers behind these cyber crimes set up fake websites, advertisements, online classifieds, and social media posts pretending to sell popular dog breeds, according to Companion Animal Network Australia (CAN).
‘Scam websites can look quite convincing – try not to fall for the adorable puppy pictures they post. To avoid being scammed, only buy or adopt a pet you can meet in person,’ the organisation warned.
They also shared that the photos used in these scams have been taken online. Doing a reverse image search could confirm the legitimacy of the offer.
To do a reverse image search, go to images.google.com, click the camera icon, and either paste the image link (or URL link) for an image you’ve seen online or download the photo from the puppy post and upload it to the browser.
Step 1: Go to Google Images.
Step 2: Click the camera icon.
Step 3: You can either upload a file or paste the photo’s link.
‘Do a reverse text and image search for the pet being advertised. If the search returns a match on multiple websites, you’re likely dealing with a scam,’ Victoria Police advise.
The scammers can even go as far as stealing the identity of trusted canine professionals.
‘I’m a legitimate business, and scammers used my name, ABN and even superimposed my name on someone else’s Tasmanian driver’s licence to show buyers as evidence,’ Lesley, a dog groomer, told CAN.
‘I also discovered 36 bank accounts with my name linked to them. Some people have lost money. The saddest part is getting innocent people and tugging at their hearts for a puppy, and I am unknowingly part of that,’ said Lesley.
This scam is not new. Previously, Victoria Police warned everyone that scammers have been asking for cash deposits to be made into a bank account after ‘buying’ a puppy. These deposits are supposed to cover transport, insurance, and registration fees.
Remember these tips! Image credit: The Seniors Discount Club
However, after the victim makes the payments, they would then be asked for more money, with scammers coming up with all sorts of excuses, such as needing extra equipment. You can read more details here.
The next one is not a scam that involves money but instead involves unauthorised data collection.
GOOGLE PLAY SCAM:
Google also warned against a new Android malware named ‘Goldoson’ and said that it had infiltrated Google Play – which is a digital distribution service operated by the tech giant – and is now affecting 60 legitimate apps. These apps have 100 million downloads collectively.
The malicious malware component is part of a third-party library used by all sixty apps. It was reported that the developers unknowingly added this component to their apps.
Some of the apps affected are:
- L.POINT with L.PAY: 10 million downloads
- Swipe Brick Breaker: 10 million downloads
- Money Manager Expense & Budget: 10 million downloads
- GOM Player: 5 million downloads
- LIVE Score, Real-Time Score: 5 million downloads
- Pikicast: 5 million downloads
- Compass 9: Smart Compass: 1 million downloads
- GOM Audio – Music, Sync lyrics: 1 million downloads
- LOTTE WORLD Magicpass: 1 million downloads
- Bounce Brick Breaker: 1 million downloads
- Infinite Slice: 1 million downloads
- SomNote - Beautiful note app: 1 million downloads
- Korea Subway Info: Metroid: 1 million downloads
According to McAfee, a computer security software company that discovered Goldoson, the malware can collect data on installed apps, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth-connected devices and the user’s GPS locations.
Additionally, it can perform ad fraud by clicking ads in the background without the user's consent.
Scammers have infiltrated Google Play as well. Credit: Mikhail Nilov/Pexels
When users have launched an app that contains Goldoson, their online library registers the device and receives its configuration from a remote server whose domain is muddied.
This manipulates which data-stealing and ad-clicking features Goldoson should run on the victim’s device and how often.
Typically, this data collection function is set to activate every two days, sending to the remote server a list of installed apps, location history, and more.
The level of data collected would depend on the permissions granted to the infected app during its installation and the Android version. Android 11 and above are better protected against data collection; however, McAfee found that even in recent versions of the operating system, Goldoson had enough permissions to gather sensitive data in 10 per cent of the apps.
The victim does not see any indication of this activity on their device.
Luckily, the experts at McAfee have alerted both Google and the developers of the affected app of the malware. Many of the affected apps have been cleaned by the developers and have since been removed from the library. The developers who didn’t or weren’t able to respond to Google had their apps removed from Google Play for non-compliance with their policies.
‘The safety of users and developers is at the core of Google Play. When we find apps that violate our policies, we take appropriate action. We have notified the developers that their apps are in violation of Google Play policies, and fixes are needed to come into compliance,’ Google told reporters.
Common signs of adware and malware infection include device heating up, battery draining quickly, and unusually high internet data usage even when the device is not in use. You can mitigate the risks by applying the latest available update for your apps.
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