Spotted: GlobeOne app with ads promoting Trojan apps

Short URL: https://www.yugatech.com/go/2b5o

Millions of Globe and TM users are using the GlobeOne app since it is the best way to monitor and manage ones account, SIM cards, postpaid plans and home fiber internet plans.

With the massive amount of users, there’s no denial that Globe would attempt to casually monetize the traffic with 3rd-party sponsored ads. We’re not sure what platform they’re using but it could be thru an Ad Network.

What Globe might not have anticipated is the popularity of betting games, online gaming and the likes will dominate the ads shown on their app. Nothing really awfully wrong with that but it could also be an avenue for unscrupulous people to inject codes and trojan apps for regular users to download.

This is exactly what we witnessed earlier today — one of the sponsored ads directed us to a website to claim our rewards (notice the similarity to GCash design and layout of the page).

When we clicked that page, it immediately prompted to download an APK. At this point, Android would warn you before proceeding to download the apk. That’s the end of it.

However, not all users will be as conscious and careful with this kind of attack. They might simply download and install the apk.

We don’t know what it can do but we suspect it would be pulling customer data like names, address, phone numbers, email and account numbers.

If you are a GCash user, you will also see similar ads popping up inside the app. Same vector, same MO.

While it would be prudent for Globe to remove theses ads from their apps (a Globe/GCash insider told be before these ads make them millions so no chance getting it removed), users should be careful every time they use the GlobeOne app.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

2 Comments

NUJ says:

3 months ago

Globe maybe getting millions out of these ads !
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Christopher Quijano says:

3 months ago

My take is on this is – WHY do they need to add 3rd party ads for customer-facing applications such as GlobeOne? The purpose of the app is for GLOBE-Owned customer-related services and changes, apply for new products and redirect to Globe/Ayala owned services. They have the right to advertize their own products and services by all means, 3rd party ads should not be present on the app AT ALL and as what we have witnessed, subject to abuse.
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