Many apps span the line between malicious and legitimate. Lookout walks you through which types of apps to watch out for.

1. 5 TYPES OF
SHADY APPS
AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
BY LOOKOUT, INC.

2. Lookout analyzes 30K apps a day.
A few are truly malicious, but many are very shady.
Shady apps walk that fine line
between good and bad
and can put people at risk for
identity theft, spam and more.

3. 
Shady apps are worth avoiding.
Here are the 5 most
common types.

4. 
Avoid: Pirated Apps

5. PIRATED APPS
Popular apps like Candy Crush and Angry Birds often get pirated
into seemingly free, fake versions. The accompanying ads put you at
increased risk of receiving spam and exposing the personal data on
your phone
Avoid the scam: Spend a couple bucks to get the real app and
support the legitimate maker of the app while protecting your
privacy.

6. Avoid: Porno Apps
Lips icon by Simon Child from The Noun Project

7. PORNOGRAPHIC APPS
IN 2013
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF PORNO APPS
Were encountered (ahem) by Lookout users
Racy apps can be intentionally very unclear about how much they
charge you, letting you run up huge fees.
Avoid the scam: Get your pr0n from a trustworthy website rather
than downloading apps. If you insist on triple-x mobile apps, make
sure you fully understand the (sometimes intentionally confusing)
terms and conditions and watch out for high subscription fees.

8. 

Avoid: Fake Antivirus Apps

9. FAKE ANTIVIRUS APPS
These apps give you little protection,
charge crazy rates, and might even tell you
your phone is infected when it’s not.
Avoid the scam: Watch out for app reviews
that seem fake or canned, or if the app
reports malware or other threats before
you’ve even installed the app. (It’s
technically impossible for an app to
analyze your phone before actually being
installed on your phone.)

10. 
Avoid: Free Money Apps

11. FREE MONEY APPS
Lookout has identified Bazuc, which promises
you free money if you let their network access
your unused SMS messages. This can expose
your personal info to strangers, resulting in
unwanted phone calls and texts, and might
violate your carrier’s terms and conditions.
Avoid the scam: Make sure the Android
system setting “Unknown Sources” is
unchecked to prevent drive-by downloads,
(apps that install themselves without
permission), and install a mobile security app
like Lookout.

12. Avoid: Misleading Apps

13. MISLEADING APPS


Some apps are like a deadbeat dad, making
promises they don’t deliver on, and then spamming
you with a ton of ads. The usual suspects include
battery optimizers and games.
Avoid the scam: Only download apps from
recognized stores such as Google Play, Amazon or
the Apple App store and read the reviews
thoroughly.

14. TIPS TO AVOID SHADY APPS
•
•
•
Stick to legitimate apps in legitimate stores like Google Play Store,
Apple’s App Store and the Amazon App store.
Before you download, spend an extra five minutes to check out the
reviews not just in the app store, but also on review sites around the
web.
Be cautious of permissions. If an app asking to access things like your
camera, location and phone contact information, are you ok with
that?
•
If it seems to good to be true, it probably is!
•
Download Lookout’s mobile security app as your first line of defense!

15. For more mobile security tips, follow