Children's Game On iPhone Had Secret Gambling Game That Stole Real Money
Using a VPN, all you need to do is enable an IP based in Turkey and the childish endless runner turns into a web-based casino asking you to add money in an online wallet from several cryptocurrencies.
A game on the Apple App Store that actually looks like it¡¯s a game designed for kids, was found to have a secret cryptocurrency gambling game. This discovery was made by the founder of the mobile keyboard app Flesky -- Kosta Eleftheriou.
This @AppStore app pretends to be a silly platformer game for children 4+, but if I set my VPN to Turkey and relaunch it becomes an online casino that doesn¡¯t even use Apple¡¯s IAP.
¡ª Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) April 15, 2021
? pic.twitter.com/crnOOF0pNi
Reported first by Gizmodo, the app on its download page claims to be an endless runner. In the game, a monkey that¡¯s jumping over obstacles and collecting bananas. The game is barely playable with several popups and after a while, most people would find it annoying and eventually delete the app.
Also Read: Little Girl Helps Google, Apple Remove Scam Apps That Made Rs 3.7 Crore
However, it has a secret trick up its sleeve. Using a VPN, all you need to do is enable an IP based in Turkey and the childish endless runner turns into a web-based casino asking you to add money in an online wallet from several cryptocurrencies. What¡¯s surprising is that the app manages to circumvent Apple¡¯s in-app purchase system effortlessly.
The app was developed by someone named Colin Malachi a few months ago. The app was recently updated in January this year. Even the terms of service that¡¯s being added to the app is stored on a Pastebin page that is barely present for a few moments until it disappears.
What's not so surprising is that people who have actually gone ahead and put their own money never really received their promised payouts.
As an icing on the cake, people in the reviews say that they deposited large sums for the promise of a bonus, but they never received the promised payouts.
¡ª Kosta Eleftheriou (@keleftheriou) April 15, 2021
Surprising no one, the scammers aren¡¯t even operating a fair casino.
Eleftheriou stated in one of his tweets, ¡°As an icing on the cake, people in the reviews say that they deposited large sums for the promise of a bonus, but they never received the promised payouts. Surprising no one, the scammers aren¡¯t even operating a fair casino.¡±
Can this app affect kids?
Not anymore. The app, as of writing this article, is no longer available on the App Store. It seems Apple was notified of it after the aforementioned publication broke the story. But it¡¯s important to keep a note of what apps your child is using as you may never know an app that looks harmless on the outside could be quite troublesome on the inside.
Also Read: Facebook Is Building Instagram For Kids Under 13: Should We Be Worried?
Monitor your child¡¯s activity on their device, limit screen time to balance it with physical activity and enable features on your phone that make sure no app can be installed without your fingerprint or PIN. This way you can ensure a safe user experience for your child in the digital world.
