With the immense amount of popularity surrounding Pokémon Go it isn’t that surprising that some shady web developers are trying to cash in on the excitement. Since the app’s release, there have been multiple accounts of knock-off versions of Pokémon Go which could contain malware and cause other problems with your mobile device.
The security firm ESET recently cracked down on one of these imposter apps called Pokemon Go Ultimate. Pokemon Go Ultimate would restart phones, and run in the background post-restart, clicking ads linked to pornography websites. Fortunately, the app has since been deleted off of the Google Play Store, but we’re likely to see incidents like this for a good amount of time until the hype for Pokémon Go dies down a little bit.
For countries in Asia, fake Pokémon Go apps could be especially troublesome, as the game has not been released there yet. Poké fans in Canada and Brazil should also be wary of imposter games until the official app is released in the aforementioned places.
Besides randomly clicking on lewd websites, fake apps could possibly be used to get personal info from mobile devices, such as social media account info. It is important to always be aware of what you are downloading and to make sure you do your research before you click.
