Technology
Have your kids been targeted by scam iPhone casino apps disguised as children’s games?
GAMBLING websites have been using seemingly innocent kids games on the Apple App Store as a disguise for their platforms.
App developer Kosta Eleftheriou spotted a cartoon monkey game that actually leads to an online casino experience.
This @AppStore app pretends to be a silly platformer game for children 4+, but if I set my VPN to Turkey and relaunch it becomes an online casino that doesn’t even use Apple’s IAP.
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) April 15, 2021
The app was called “Jungle Runner 2k21” and has since disappeared from the App Store.
If you’ve downloaded it on your phone already you’re advised to delete it.
Another app called “Magical Forest – Puzzle” has also come under fire for being a front for online gambling.
Eleftheriou tweeted: “This @AppStore app pretends to be a silly platformer game for children 4+, but if I set my VPN to Turkey and relaunch it becomes an online casino that doesn’t even use Apple’s IAP.”
The app expert said the game was very poor[/caption]
A user would have to be in Turkey to access the online casino or fake being their using a VPN.
There has also been reports that the games can give access to gambling for people in Italy.
In the US the “Jungle Runner 2k21” app is said to work just like a very bad cartoon game.
It’s apparently advertised through seemingly legitimate ads that make it look popular.
Eleftheriou said: “Once people follow the ad, they are taken to this App Store page. Notice the abundance of coins and the “Install and win” copy.
“In order to pass App Review the app claims to be “a fun running game”, and in the US works like an extremely basic and very poorly designed kids game.”
It’s not thought that the apps are not violating many App Store policies as gambling apps are allowed.
However, they shouldn’t be advertised for children if they can lead to online casinos.
We have reached out to Apple for comment.
How to stay safe from hackers
- Protect your devices and networks by keeping them up to date: use the latest supported versions, use anti-virus and scan regularly to guard against known malware threats.
- Use multi-factor authentication to reduce the impact of password compromises.
- Tell staff how to report suspected phishing emails, and ensure they feel confident to do so, investigate their reports promptly and thoroughly.
- Set up a security monitoring capability so you are collecting the data that will be needed to analyse network intrusions
- Prevent and detect lateral movement in your organisation’s networks.
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Have you spotted any Apple scams recently? Let us know in the comments…
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