Wizz apppopular among teens in the US, has been removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store due to sextortion attacks.
The National Center for Sexual Exploitation notified Apple and Google about the app's abuse and then thanked the two companies in X for removing the Wizz app from their app stores.
Wizz is a Tinder-like app for teens (ages 13+) owned by French company Voodoo. Voodoo presents Wizz as a safe space for teens. On its website, it explains how the company prevents fake profiles and offensive content.
However, a recent report by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) cited Wizz as a platform used by cybercriminals in a new wave of financial-sextortion attacks targeting children and teens in Australia, Canada, and the US. Specifically, the NCRI report stated that Wizz was the third most used app for sextortion scams, after Instagram and Snapchat.
See also: Deepfake & Sextortion: Fraudsters create inappropriate content using your social media
According to researchers, dozens of minors have reported being forced to produce sexual material and blackmailed on Wizz. At the same time, there are concerns about child safety related to the display of pornographic advertisements to minors.
Wizz partners with Apple and Google
On its Instagram account, Wizz said the app “took a break from app stores due to a technical error” and began using the hashtag #freewizz.
According to Infosecurity, a Voodoo spokesperson said: “Apple and Google are seeking more information about our app and we are working closely with their teams to clarify our platform’s extensive safeguards for users. We hope to resolve this issue soon.”
Apple and Google confirmed that they are in talks with the Wizz team to review the issues that have arisen.
When asked about the NCRI report, the spokesperson added that the company has implemented strict security controls to prevent abusive or illegal behavior on its platform.
Additionally, in early January, Gautier Gédoux, co-founder and CTO of Wizz, said regarding the NCRI report: “We are not aware of any successful extortion attempts that have occurred on the Wizz app.” Regarding the allegation that young Wizz users were forced to produce sexual material, Gédoux noted that there are no allegations of extortion in the comments on the Google Play Store.
See also: VajraSpy malware: Distributed via malicious Android apps
In Apple Store, there are two allegations of blackmail, but again, these situations occurred when the review creator moved to another messaging platform like Snapchat or Instagram,” he added.
The CTO also insisted that the app has preventative measures in place to detect and remove potential fraud attempts.
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He said the app bans around 4,000 users daily who try to access the platform. He added that Wizz is one of the few apps that uses Apple's Device Check SDK technology.
Additionally, Gédoux explained how the app is trying to combat users who send pornographic ads.
“Advertising on Wizz is done through AppLovin Max and Unity, the major players used by almost all mobile apps. In these advertising networks, the publication of illegal content, hate content, as well as violent, sexual, political or other inappropriate ads within Wizz is prohibited.“.
See also: Google Play removes thousands of apps every month
The CTO said that in the past the company had faced some issues with inappropriate images, but they were not related to pornography. Wizz has also implemented a secondary level of supervision, whereby any inappropriate ads that have not been properly flagged and blocked by these providers are subject to secondary review through the service provider GeoEdge.
Preventing sextortion scams
Preventing sextortion requires a multi-pronged approach. First, it is important to educate young people about the tactics used by attackers. This can include education about the different forms of sextortion and the ways it can appear online.
Second, it is important to maintain privacy online. This may mean setting personal social media accounts to private, avoiding sharing sensitive information, and choosing strong passwords.
Third, be aware of the signs of 'Sextortion' and report any suspicious behavior to the appropriate authorities. This may include reporting suspicious messages or requests, avoiding sending or receiving sensitive images or videos, and encouraging others to do the same.
Finally, sextortion prevention can include supporting and encouraging victims to speak up. This can help eliminate the stigma associated with sextortion and encourage more people to report their experiences.
Source: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
