One-click fraud targeting Japan Smartphone Users

According to Symantec report, A type of fraud involving adult related content, called “one-click fraud”, has been targeting computer users in Japan for a while now. The fraud involves users attempting to access the porn movies. When a user try to access porn contents, Malware is downloaded along with the actual movie and infect the system. Above is an example page of one of the scam sites. It looks like a typical adult website where users can watch videos.

one-click fraud for smartphones has evolved and begun to use applications. While one-click fraud is still common on computers, we are now seeing sites that target smartphones – specifically Android and the iPhone. It’s worth noting that this site also can be displayed on the Windows Phone and BlackBerries but they are both not specifically targeted at this time.

The malware start to show annoying pop-up message that ask victim for payment to register in their website. Since they pop-up message is annoying, the users will try to pay with the hope that the pop-ups will disappear, although they may not actually disappear.

"After installation, the app frequently opens the browser and displays a registration page with user details such as the customer ID, phone number, and account used on the device, in order to persuade the user into making a payment. It is nearly identical to the fraud approach used on Windows computers."Symantec said.

If a user's device becomes compromised they can uninstall the application with the “Manage Applications” setting. Be mindful of follow-up scams however. It may be a good idea to configure your devices not to allow installation of non-approved applications. Never open a spam mail or click any links.

However, what makes this fraud noteworthy is that users may be convinced that their information was really sent to the adult site. In turn, they may be willing to pay the specified amount, fearing that not doing so may cause them trouble and embarrassment. Users are leveraging the fact that mobile device users are still not fully aware that they are becoming a primary target of cybercrime. Also, Smartphones have small screens, causing the URLs to not be fully displayed, which makes it difficult for users to verify if the URL is malicious or not. Smartphone users also tend to easily save their personal information such as private pictures, addresses, and schedules in these devices, making them prime targets of information theft.

So why are cybercriminals who conduct this kind of scheme targeting smartphone users?

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