ROANOKE, Va. – Many of us will be giving and getting new technology this holiday season and scammers are trying to find new ways to take advantage.
Millions of people downloaded a fake app this month before Google took it out of its store. It looked like the popular WhatsApp messaging app but it was a fake, putting ads onto people’s devices.
Julie Wheeler, with the Better Business Bureau, said everyone needs to be careful.
"If folks had looked a little bit further they would be able to see that the real WhatsApp had a billion downloads instead of a million," she said.
To avoid falling victim, the Better Business Bureau said to check the number of downloads an app has, see who made it and read reviews. Scammers might download dangerous malware, or ask for your credit card information or Facebook or email passwords.
"You also want to make sure that you understand the privacy settings. What are you giving up by using this app?"
In your settings, you can check to see if an app can access your camera and location.
If you have kids on the devices, they might not know what’s real and what’s fake.
"I think all of us, we have a problem with a piece of technology, we hand it to our kids. 'Here, you get this. I can't make it work,'" Wheeler said. "You've got to keep up with what's going on with your children's devices."
That could include having a password you would enter in order for your child to download an app.