ISTANBUL

Cybercriminals use fake VPNs that impersonate legitimate services to get access to users' private and financial information, Google warns.

Fake VPN services use “sexually suggestive advertising” or exploit geopolitical events to get users' attention.

“Once installed, these applications serve as a vehicle to deliver dangerous malware payloads including info-stealers, remote access trojans and banking trojans that exfiltrate sensitive data such as browsing history, private messages, financial credentials and cryptocurrency wallet information,” Laurie Richardson, vice president of trust and safety at Google, said in the search engine blog.

​​​​​​​A survey shows that 57% of adults experienced a scam in the past year, with 23% reporting money stolen, said the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.