Billing fraud is one of the most common sources of income for cybercriminals. There are currently a number of known mobile Trojans specializing in secretly subscribing users to paid services. They usually pay for legitimate services in a user’s name and scammers take a cut from the money billed. These types of subscription fees tend to be fleeced from the phone balance.
A user who is genuinely interested in subscribing to a service normally needs to visit the content provider’s website and click “subscribe.” As Trojan apps are capable of simulating a click on this icon, service providers sometimes require a confirmation code sent in a text message to complete subscription.
