But that hasn't stopped 'fleeceware' makers pedalling QR code reading apps, such as one with a 3-day trial then $41/month cost. Warnings are being sounded over increasingly aggressive "fleeceware" apps that flip onto outrageously priced weekly or monthly fees, charged to your credit card, once a free trial period expires. New Zealand ranks as the second most affected country after Australia with more than 2 million downloads of fleeceware apps, across iOS and Android, costing New Zealanders more than US$1.4m ($1.9m). These fleeceware applications are actively advertised on major social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, Avast says. "The fleeceware applications we've discovered consist predominantly of musical instrument apps, palm readers, image editors, camera filters, fortune tellers, QR code and PDF readers, and 'slime simulators'.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 30, 2021 22:09 UTC