![Hacker using laptop against multiple monitors at desk in office. [Shutterstock - Andrey_Popov - 360067064]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/shutterstock_360067064-e1472575831193.jpg "Hacker using laptop against multiple monitors at desk in office. [Shutterstock - Andrey_Popov - 360067064]")
Cybercriminals have placed tons of phony retail apps in Apple’s App Store in recent weeks in order to dupe holiday shoppers into giving their personal data like credit card info.
The apps purport authenticity by looking highly similar to legitimate companies like Zappos, Christian Dior, Nordstrom, Foot Locker and many others, according to The New York Times.
Apparently there was an app called “Footlocke Sports Co., Ltd.” which had a similar logo to the real clothes and shoe store in hopes that would-be consumers overlook the purposefully omitted “r” at the end of “Foot Locker.”
“It’s important that brands monitor how their name is being used,” Ben Reubenstein, chief executive of Possible Mobile, a firm that makes apps for certain companies, told The NYT.
The imitation apps are believed to be created and managed by people in China.
Apple has reportedly removed hundreds of fake apps since they were detected.
Many online shoppers may not be very cautious of phishing attacks, since security researchers at a Germany university conducted a test that showed roughly half of people click on infected links even after knowing the risks.
Hackers pretended to be customer support for banks on Twitter over the past few months in an attempt to steal personal data. The fraudsters created fake social media accounts, evoke genuineness, and then provide seemingly official links, which are actually just portals to malware (viruses) or phony pages requesting for more sensitive information.
The latest faux apps in the Apple store have the same purpose.
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