According to community.norton.com, if you are an Android user & you get a sudden SMS, a strange alert or notification, or unusual requests from what may look like your bank or other familiar brand, beware. Scammers may be trying to rip you off.
What you can do to protect yourself?
Unsolicited SMSs, emails, or unexpected notifications that seem from a bank, retailer, or other known institution may not always be what they seem. Apply caution with any link delivered to you & always read the message first. Rather than use the link supplied in the message, go directly to the website in question & log into your account the way you’d normally. If the message appears particularly worrying, call the firm directly to verify the information before acting online.
Also, only download Android apps from official sources like the Google Play Store. Before downloading an app, do some research. Check how many times the application has been downloaded. A wildly popular app is a revealing sign of a good app. Read app reviews, look at the developer, & do a search online. There could be more information coming from other users who have earlier been duped. Cybercriminals can try to fool you with fake reviews that are often short & generic, so make sure you check out any other apps made by the developer. The more applications that developer has created, the higher the chance that the developer is the real deal.
Security or software update notifications can be a bit trickier to make sense of. Time and again, users receive a prompt to install an urgent security update. Your best action in this situation would be to search online and find out information about that update. If there’re multiple discussions online about that specific security update, that can confirm if it’s legitimate.
There’re also clear visual things that stick out if you want to identify fake Android applications. Spelling errors, shoddy logos, & unbalanced or poorly formatted interfaces are clues the app could be fake.
Lastly, if you want to be wholly covered, there’re a few options to keep your device safe.
Don’t forget to think before you click. Even though there may be a sense of exigency to one-click & install, it’s better to take the time & remind yourself of all the signs an application may be fake.
An easy protection step everyone should take is to visit your Android settings & make sure you don’t allow third-party app downloads from un-trusted sites.
Norton Mobile Security Application Advisor for the Google Play Store, which is included in Norton Mobile Security, gives comprehensive, proactive protection from the threats on today’s mobile Internet landscape. The App Advisor lets users examine the behavior of an app before actually downloading it to their device. App Advisor scans apps in the Google Play Store looking for features that can plague privacy, display annoying/intrusive behavior like pop up ads or excessive battery usage, & unnecessary data usage. It’ll also detect if an app contains malware or is malicious in nature.
