{"id":50057,"date":"2023-12-18T08:19:08","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=50057"},"modified":"2023-12-18T08:19:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T13:19:08","slug":"online-investment-dangerous-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/online-investment-dangerous-apps\/50057\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s a gas: how online scammers dupe “investors”"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the popularity of online investing grows, so does the number of related online scams. A few months back, we took a look at some fake investment apps that we\u2019d found in the App Store<\/a>. After that, we decided to dig a little deeper and see where else such apps are lurking. And our search yielded much more curious results than we expected.<\/p>\n

This post is about our most interesting findings: fake \u201cgas\u201d apps in Android store recommendations; \u201coil investment\u201d apps in the App Store and on Google Play; as well as a series of fake videos in which \u201cErdogan\u201d, \u201cMusk\u201d, and other famous people promote non-existent investment platforms.<\/p>\n

Gas scammers in Android app stores<\/h2>\n

First of all, let\u2019s outline the scale of the problem. We discovered several hundred scam apps in different languages \u2014 more than 300 in total \u2014 offering investments in natural resources, \u201cquantum investment algorithms\u201d, and other fancy things that purport to turn a small sum into untold riches.<\/p>\n

Such apps can be found crawling all over stores that are pre-installed on phones of various brands: for example, GetApps on Xiaomi smartphones, or Palm Store on Tecno devices.<\/p>\n

\"Hundreds<\/a>

Hundreds of scam investment apps in GetApps and Palm Store for Android<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the stores even included a number of scam apps in the list of recommendations shown to the user when they open it, and those apps were even pre-checked \u2014 so the store itself encourages the user to install them!<\/p>\n

\"Scam<\/a>

Scam investment apps in Palm Store\u2019s recommended list<\/p><\/div>\n

Some Android advertising apps were found to contain ads for either \u201cgas\u201d and \u201cquantum\u201d apps, or scam sites offering the same: natural resources, investment algorithms, and other sure-fire ways of earning hundreds of dollars a day without lifting a finger.<\/p>\n

\"Ad<\/a>

Ad for \u201cgas\u201d and \u201cquantum\u201d scam apps for Android<\/p><\/div>\n

Fake videos: \u201cMusk\u201d and \u201cErdogan\u201d advertise investment platforms<\/h2>\n

Besides such apps and sites themselves, we uncovered some massive information campaigns promoting various \u201cinvestment platforms\u201d.<\/p>\n

In particular, these spread fake news about how ordinary users got rich through investments, and each campaign was tailored to the target region in the style of leading local media and featuring the names of famous politicians and businesspeople.<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

Fake news content about earnings on investment platforms<\/p><\/div>\n

Also discovered were many (around 800) fake videos, localized for almost all regions of the world and \u201cstarring\u201d well-known politicians, actors, businesspeople, and others.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the media persons themselves don\u2019t even suspect that their images are being exploited for such purposes. The creators of the videos use real footage of an official nature \u2014 interviews with national TV stations, public speeches and the like that are familiar to the regional target audience. In this way, the scammers maximize the number of victims likely to be persuaded by such fakes.<\/p>\n

The videos, it must be said, are made quite well. Overlaid on top of the edited video footage are audio tracks that sound very convincing \u2014 strongly suggesting the use of audio deepfakes<\/a>. The audio is also carefully subtitled, so the videos can be watched without sound.<\/p>\n

In addition, the scammers use company names similar to ones everyone\u2019s heard of. For instance, a Russian-language video promotes the \u201cTesla X investment platform\u201d, allegedly created by Elon Musk as a by-product of developing a vehicle autopilot system. The operating principle of this investment algorithm is \u201clike a multicooker: you put in the ingredients and get a ready dinner\u201d (indirect quote).<\/p>\n

\"Scam<\/a>

Scam video with Musk, DiCaprio, and the \u201cTesla X investment platform\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

In another video in Turkish, the main character is\u2026 the president of T\u00fcrkiye, who appears to unveil an \u201cinvestment platform\u201d promising big bucks. All it takes is to \u201cinvest\u201d just 5000 lira (around $170, or \u20ac160) in supposed shares of a Turkish state-owned oil-and-gas pipeline company.<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

\u201cRecep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u201d offers a get-rich opportunity by \u201cinvesting\u201d just 5000 lira<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up is a video in Spanish. In it, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim \u201cadvises\u201d his fellow citizens to invest in oil through an \u201cinvestment platform\u201d called Oil Profit.<\/p>\n

\"Fake<\/a>

Carlos Slim appears to promote an \u201cinvestment\u201d app called Oil Profit<\/p><\/div>\n

Such videos, created for a host of countries and regions, are myriad, and most give the impression of being endorsed by national or regional heads, who \u201cencourage\u201d investing money in large public and private projects \u2014 which, of course, in reality goes straight into the scammers\u2019 pockets.<\/p>\n

Citizens of Moldova are promised a juicy rate of return from Moldindconbank, because \u201cpayments are guaranteed by the head of the Central Bank!\u201d Citizens of Kazakhstan are advised to \u201cinvest\u201d in KazMunayGas, and citizens of Romania \u2014 in Romgaz; in both videos, the lead character is the country\u2019s president. Meanwhile, Korean citizens are invited to invest in a fake \u201cnational-level investment platform\u201d seemingly from Samsung, and Bulgarian citizens \u2014 in a no-less fake scheme from Bulgarian Energy Holding. And the list goes on\u2026<\/p>\n

Not by gas alone: \u201coil\u201d scammers in the App Store and on Google Play<\/h2>\n

Researching the case of Carlos Slim seemingly promoting investments in oil, we discovered several more apps in the App Store and on Google Play with the name \u201cOil Profit\u201d in the title (the creators\u2019 own spelling and punctuation are retained):<\/p>\n