You really have to be careful nowadays with apps that are promising various rewards and bonuses (and if they don’t come from reliable developers). Chances are, they are either a fraudulent company or they will be unleashing a malware on your device that will eat up your battery or memory or worse, it might actually steal something from you. The developer of one such app decided to settle out of court with the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey government, and now they will never be able to create similar apps ever again.
Equiliv Investments and Ryan Ramminger were accused of creating an app called Prized, which promised users they have no malware whatsoever. But in fact, their app, which offers rewards and prizes to consumers for supposedly playing games or getting affiliated apps, was in fact taking control of the users’ computing services so it could mine some virtual currencies that are located within the device, including DogeCoin, LiteCoin, and QuarkCoin. By solving the mathematical equations needed to get these virtual currencies, the app made use of people’s devices and drained power, recharge more slowly, and even consume the monthly data plans with their respective carriers.
Under their settlement, the developers will be banned permanently from creating and distributing other malicious software. It is not clear in the statement though if they can still create apps and say that it is not “malicious” and if proven they are saying the truth, the apps can be published. The defendants will also be paying $50,000 to the state of New Jersey. But upon payment of $5,200, the remaining $44,800 is suspended if they will comply with the injunctive provisions of the stipulated order.
The emergence of new financial technology, which is called FinTech has led to an expected increase in technically sophisticated crimes. The FTC has been cracking down on this in order to protect consumers and at the same time, encourage innovations like these that will eventually be for the consumers’ benefit if done right.
SOURCE: FTC
