Many times we associate scams in digital stores with applications that hide some type of malware and that, after bypassing the controls imposed by Google or Apple, end up being installed on our device and causing problems. In the case of Fleeceware Apps, we are talking about a practice that, many times, is consented to by the user himself. When we refer to applications that are fleeceware, we are talking about a type of development that offers a free trial period to enjoy the application but, before allowing us to access, they force us to contract a subscription at exorbitant prices, far from the standards that they are practiced within the online stores of Apple and Google.
The term fleeceware is quite new and we only have to go back to September 2019 to know its origin. The creator of this term is Sophos, a cybersecurity company that was the one that discovered the existence of this type of applications in the Google Play Store, the app store for Android.
So far we could think that everything is normal. A free app for a week that charges us a high amount of money on the eighth day, but we decide if it is acceptable or not. The problem comes when we realize that those same applications are practically clones of others that are already available in the App Store, or the Play Store, and that they do the same but without charging us.
These Fleeceware creators are fully aware that they are offering us something that is already in the store for free but, based on the fact that it is practically impossible to know everything that is published daily in them, they make their fortune receiving income for a product that does not have no value. That is, even with our acceptance, they are actually ripping us off.
If you are already subscribed to any of these Fleeceware apps, the best thing you can do is cancel that commitment since google gives you the option to cancel the subscriptions purchased on your own but in addition to this. To avoid falling into these scams, do your research before buying a plan for any app.
Also check:
Dangerous Apps – For our children’s and minors
Triada Trojan that terrorized Android in its time
