Three firms have been fined a collective £330,000 by regulator PhonepayPlus for malicious apps.
Three app firms have been fined a total of £330,000 by premium-rate service watchdog PhonepayPlus for apps that download and take money from customers without their consent.
Manchester-based firm Circle Marketing was fined £130,000 while Synchronised, based in Coventry, was fined £120,000. The third is Cloudspace, based in Edinburgh, which landed an £80,000 penalty.
The Android apps include names like "Fun Sexy Girls" and "Glam Pleasures". Some of the apps downloaded automatically without the user's consent when they visited an adult website. Others were contacted because their details were on marketing lists and sent explicit text messages which were described as "vile".
When the apps transferred to their phone, the user could unknowingly take out a subscription by clicking anywhere on the screen. The apps block the messages that are supposed to confirm the subscription, so they had no idea they were being charged. Customers were typically billed between £1.50 and £4.50 a week. One complainant was charged £231 in total, while another was hit with £150 more than usual over a three-month period.
Research by anti-virus and internet security firm Kaspersky Lab led to the investigation which uncovered the apps.
All three companies were unable to show they had the customers’ consent to be charged.
Protect yourself from rogue apps
[SPOTLIGHT]Aside from being careful about which websites you visit, there are some general warning signs to look out for when downloading apps.
Apple has tighter restrictions on who can post apps in its store than Android, so if you're a Google Play customer, be extra vigilant.
Firstly, make sure your mobile anti-virus is legitimate. In this instance, it’s best to go for a well-known company. There are some fakes of well-known software floating around so watch out for those.
Look out for spelling and grammatical errors in the app description. As with scam emails, there are likely to be these kind of mistakes, coupled with a lack of screenshots and an incorrect company logo.
Apps that require things like "full internet access" or "directly call phone numbers" in their permissions for no obvious reason should also be cause for alarm.
If you catch anything like this, mark it as spam.
Be wary of glowing five-star reviews for an app, too. It’s becoming increasingly commonplace for app developers to buy fake reviews to boost their profile so they may well be a bit sketchy. If you suspect foul play, have a look at what else the reviewer has rated and if all of their comments are similar. That should send up a red flag. App developers may also post fake negative reviews to try to bring down their rivals, so keep a close eye on individual reviewers.
Finally, make sure ‘verified apps’ is ticked on your Google Play settings; this should give you warning about potentially dangerous apps.
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Other premium-rate service tips
PhonepayPlus says we should all keep an eye out for anything unusual on our phone bills.
Premium rate numbers generally begin with 0871, 0872, 0873, 090 or 118. Charity texts also come under premium rate.
You can use its number checker to see if it has the name and contact details for the company running the service. While you’re there, check whether the charge is a single premium rate or a subscription premium rate service.
If you receive a text from a text message premium rate service you can text the word STOP to their shortcode number. This is a five or six-digit long number, which usually starts with five, six, seven or eight. If there are two or more services from the shortcode number you should text STOP ALL. These numbers are often used to pay for new features in apps, to donate to charity, to enter competitions or download games and ringtones.
Most importantly, keep relevant information in a safe place and don’t delete dodgy text messages! They’ll help you make your case if you do have to make a complaint.
Making a complaint
As ever, you should try to complain to the company that runs the service or your phone network first. If they don’t resolve your complaint in a timely manner or you can’t track down the company that runs the service in question, then it’s best to get in touch with PhonepayPlus.
Complaints often concern:
- The cost of the text or call not being stated
- Misleading claims that are made about the service
- The content is offensive
- The service is needlessly long, making it more expensive
PhonepayPlus covers both premium rate numbers and services. To make a complaint, you have the option of filling out an online complaint form, calling 0800 500 212 (free of charge) or writing to:
FREEPOST RTJJ-RLGS-HRJK
PhonepayPlus
Clove Building
4 Maguire Street
London
SE1 2NQ
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Have you fallen victim to any of these apps? Let us know in the comments below.
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