Middlesex County Prosecutor Warns Students Of Fake App Malware Scam

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is warning students about an online scam that uses look-alike apps and fake virus warnings to steal passwords and banking information as the new school year gets underway.

According to a fraud alert issued by the prosecutor's office in September, scammers are creating apps designed to resemble legitimate ones. Once downloaded, the apps generate a pop-up notification claiming the student's device has been infected with malware.

The notification instructs the student to call a phone number to have the device scanned. The scammer on that call then directs the student to a second number for "Customer Support," where the second caller asks for passwords and online banking information, officials said.

The warning comes weeks after the South Brunswick School District alerted families to fraudulent emails falsely claiming to be from district staff members, some of which requested money, gift cards or personal information.

The prosecutor's office offered the following tips to help students protect themselves:

• If an app download triggers a warning screen saying the device has a virus, turn off the device and disable internet access.

• Do not call any numbers listed in the pop-up. Contact school IT staff instead.

• If you do call the number, do not provide your name, banking information, Social Security number, copies of government-issued identification or other personal information, which can be used to compromise accounts and cause financial losses.

• End the call. Apple Support will not ask for personal identifying information, social media passwords or online banking information.

• Verify download links before installing apps or app extensions. Scammers may create links that appear to be for common apps in order to install malware.

• If you have already provided personal information, report it to campus security, the IT department and a local police department.

• Block any suspicious phone numbers and report texts as junk or spam.

Anyone who believes they have been victimized is asked to call the non-emergency number for their campus security or local police department.

Scams can also be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

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