Fraudulent VPN Apps Detected in Apple App Store

[Tomcat]

Avast researchers found three rogue VPN apps for iOS devices that force users to buy a paid subscription and charge them once a week. Apps charge higher fees for services that aren't delivered properly, experts say. Despite the high rating, in fact, they are a dummy.

Such dummies (fleeceware) belong to the so-called "gray" applications, since they are not malicious in themselves. They simply charge unreasonably high fees for services that are actually much cheaper.

After a three-day trial period, the Buckler VPN, Hat VPN and Beetle VPN apps charge users about $ 10 a week, the researchers found. When you try to use the service after paying for the subscription, a notification appears about the need to pay again, this time for access.

All three apps are still available in the App Store, with a rating of 4.6-4.8. Since they do not contain any malicious components, they do not violate store rules. However, the laudatory service reviews are bogus, according to the researchers. All of them are similar to each other, but sometimes there are comments from real users under them, warning of fraud.

The experts notified Apple of the problem and recommended that users closely monitor what amounts are debited from their accounts after the end of the trial period.