More than 80 percent of the times we spend on smartphones is on apps. But experts say app scams are on the rise. When shoppers buy items on fake apps, products don’t arrive and the scammers have the user’s information and credit card data.
So how can you tell the difference between a fake app and a real app? Bob Meshinsky, practice leader of forensic services and cyber security investigations for Scottsdale-based WGM, offers these tips:
- Use caution: With any link delivered to you, always read the message first. Do not click on the link provided, but go directly to the website in question.
- Check the details: For example, a bogus app for overstock.com called itself Overstock Inc.
- Think before you click: Do some research before downloading an app. Read reviews. Look at the developer. How many times has it been downloaded? What will the app have access to?
- Review the content: Many fake apps have nonsensical menus written in broken English, no reviews and no history of previous versions.
- Safety first: Download and install a mobile antivirus application.
