A Fredericton, N.B.-based online security company has uncovered a multi-million dollar scheme to bilk companies that advertise online through Google and Twitter. The University of New Brunswick-based Sentrant Security Inc. discovered more than 200 apps in the Google Play store that were running invisible ads that were charged back to legitimate online advertisers. “The scheme involves over 20 shell companies, 247 apps, affecting over 500,000 installs on consumers’ Android devices,” said a statement from Sentrant. Allen Dillon, the chief executive officer of Sentrant Security, says this kind of fraud is pervasive in the $170-billion industry. “They’re conducting a fraud by producing click fraud or false traffic … into the digital advertising system,” he said. Allen Dillon, CEO of Sentrant Security Inc., says online fraud is a growing problem around the world.
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