Unauthorised apps and app stores are contributing to a spike in mobile fraud‚ a media agency warns. “There are hundreds of thousands of Apps and mobile services claiming to offer secure shopping portals or games or entertainment‚ and a significant percentage of these are actually designed to steal credit card information‚ banking details and hard-earned cash‚” MediaWeb’s Chad Fichardt said in a statement.Citing research by RiskIQ which showed how malicious mobile apps in Google Play had spiked nearly 400% last year‚ he said in 2015‚ new research found that there were thousands of unauthorised apps and app stores that referenced high-level brands. Of these‚ 17% were already blacklisted as they had failed a virus scan or linked users to a known source of malware.Users need to place protections onto their mobile devices to prevent them from being easily accessed‚ Fichardt said.According to Mel Gischen‚ Marketing Manager at electronic payment provider‚ PayU‚ “Not having a back-up or a remote wipe system or placing password protection on a device means that the user may as well walk up to the nearest person on the street and hand them their credit card‚ login details and a shopping list”.It’s worth adding on an additional layer of protection by using encryption software on all mobile devices as this will instantly slam up a barrier against a quick hack‚ he says.“Then ensure that remote wiping is activated – most modern devices allow for this – and delete all sensitive information the moment the device goes missing.”Other options for protecting‚ and possibly even retrieving‚ the mobile phone are GPS tracking through services such as ‘Find my Phone’ and Lock Screen Contact Info where people can instantly see a name and an alternative number and use that data to return the smartphone if it was lost‚ not stolen.Gischen cautioned: “It is vital to check for credible and trusted websites and third-party security providers‚ especially when making payments on your phone. As a rule‚ treat this exactly the same as you would when buying online from your laptop or desktop”.Mobile users are also encouraged not to make it easy for fraudsters – Do not enter private information when receiving a text that announces a big prize win‚ don’t fall for a fake charity request‚ don’t provide bank details to anyone unless it is part of a registered transaction and always ensure that apps downloaded from the various app stores are secure‚ virus-free and valid...