Graybeard
Well-Known Member
Android -- for the win 
A bot version of you may have helped defraud millions from advertisers
Connected Apps and Websites
Better than a bank robbery -- advertising fraud & theft
>>>The fraud worked like this:
A bot version of you may have helped defraud millions from advertisers
A bot version of you may have helped defraud millions from advertisers
Connected Apps and Websites
Better than a bank robbery -- advertising fraud & theft
>>>The fraud worked like this:
- Fraudsters would contact owners of popular, highly-rated apps on the Google Play Store. The fraudsters would offer to buy the app from the owner(s) using Bitcoin — in some cases paying more than the owners expect the app is worth.
- Now the owners of an app with a positive reputation, the fraudsters would closely monitor and track the app’s users as they navigate through the application. This could have been you.
- Using the illegally-tracked user data, the fraudsters then created bots which mimicked the human behavior exactly. Once again, one of those bots could have been based on your own behavior.
- Armed with these human-esque bots, the fraudsters set the bots to work opening the app, navigating around, and — most importantly — “viewing” ads.
- Since the bots are mixed in with actual human users (remember, the app is still on the Play Store, still popular, and still maintained), Google’s bot-detection protocols don’t see the illegal activity.
- Now that these bots are “viewing” ads repeatedly, undetected, the fraudsters watch the money roll right in.
- Once situated, the fraudsters repeat the whole process by buying another app with a good reputation.<<<
A bot version of you may have helped defraud millions from advertisers
