After highlighting a VPN and heart rate monitoring scam apps on Apple’s app store, a few days ago. Developer Kosta Eleftheriou has once again pointed out a new shady app which may have generated a lot of revenue from not-so-tech-savvy users. However, the new scam app is even more dangerous than the other apps as it is a warped online casino cloaked as a kid game. This scam app works in such a way for only specific IP addresses, like Turkey. App store creators Apple and Google are continuously trying their best to get rid of misleading apps involved in malicious activities, yet their moderation systems keep on failing at some point in time. The new scam app on the app store, evades Apple’s in-app acquisition system as well as, appears to be scamming people out of undisclosed amount.
Apple keeps a hard check on all the apps it allows on the App Store to certify the quality apps with more safety and security. However, there are still some developers who bypass such strong checks by pulling some sneaky hacks. They frequently syndicate their apps with a really basic functionality or innocent looking game. This time, the suspected app is a kid game of 4 plus age group, dubbed as Jungle Runner 2k21, according to App Store listing, it is a never-ending runner game. For those who try to open this game by using a Turkey VPN, this app turns into an online casino that uses its own payment system.
There was another case where a developer snitched an expelled Iranian app back into the App Store with the same trick. Kosta also gave information about the deceptive ads that the developer used in Jungle Runner. For instance, the developer used shady ads to fascinate un-suspecting users by pretending the app was highlighted on CNN Turk. Kosta says that the game that introduces in the US and elsewhere works but it is really basic and very poorly designed but the problem was that people blindly trust on App Store apps that once it is listed by Apple, it must be safe to try this app what more attracting is this app is free of cost.
Since the scammers are not using Apple’s IAP (In-App Purchase), and it may be possible that an online casino is just a website, and the reason for going through the App Store is to take the advantage of people’s trust in Apple App Store. This Jungle Runner was available on App Store for a couple of months and even its few updates even went through the strong check of Apple and according to different sources, this app has scammed a large amount of money from the users and did not even give what people have purchased.
Read next: Apple Has Published A Report On Its Environmental Impact For 2021, While Also Establishing Future Goals For The Company
Apple keeps a hard check on all the apps it allows on the App Store to certify the quality apps with more safety and security. However, there are still some developers who bypass such strong checks by pulling some sneaky hacks. They frequently syndicate their apps with a really basic functionality or innocent looking game. This time, the suspected app is a kid game of 4 plus age group, dubbed as Jungle Runner 2k21, according to App Store listing, it is a never-ending runner game. For those who try to open this game by using a Turkey VPN, this app turns into an online casino that uses its own payment system.
Since the app is free and the App Store is “a place you can trust” according to Apple, most people at this point will just go ahead and download it. What is there to lose? pic.twitter.com/pyQaHJsUOS
— Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) April 15, 2021
There was another case where a developer snitched an expelled Iranian app back into the App Store with the same trick. Kosta also gave information about the deceptive ads that the developer used in Jungle Runner. For instance, the developer used shady ads to fascinate un-suspecting users by pretending the app was highlighted on CNN Turk. Kosta says that the game that introduces in the US and elsewhere works but it is really basic and very poorly designed but the problem was that people blindly trust on App Store apps that once it is listed by Apple, it must be safe to try this app what more attracting is this app is free of cost.
Since the scammers are not using Apple’s IAP (In-App Purchase), and it may be possible that an online casino is just a website, and the reason for going through the App Store is to take the advantage of people’s trust in Apple App Store. This Jungle Runner was available on App Store for a couple of months and even its few updates even went through the strong check of Apple and according to different sources, this app has scammed a large amount of money from the users and did not even give what people have purchased.
Read next: Apple Has Published A Report On Its Environmental Impact For 2021, While Also Establishing Future Goals For The Company
