The game "Travel Frog" has hidden risks. Improper operation may turn your phone into a "brick".

The merchant said that you can fill the clover with only 20 yuan

The merchant said that he would not check the user's privacy

Recently, a mobile game called "Travel Frog" has been trending on WeChat Moments. Because of its simple operation and slow pace, this game has also been nicknamed "Buddhist Frog Raising" by netizens.

In the game, the number of clovers determines the frog's equipment and destination, but the growth cycle of clovers is slow and the purchase cost is high. Therefore, some businesses have seized the business opportunity and launched a service for iOS mobile phone users, "Spend 20 yuan to buy 2.1 billion unlimited clovers". Through "plug-in" operations, players can easily obtain a large number of clovers.

The reporter found that after purchasing the "Unlimited Clover" service, you need to follow the tutorial on your computer or allow the merchant to operate remotely, but there are many risks in the process, which may cause data loss in your phone or even leak personal privacy. In addition, on January 23, Apple customer service told reporters that this type of "plug-in" operation has certain security risks and may even leak personal ID accounts. Merchants may use this to blackmail buyers and cause losses.

Phenomenon

Internet celebrity "Travel Frog" accused of using "hacks"

A game called "Travel Frog" has recently become popular in WeChat Moments. This game was developed by a Japanese game company and is currently only available in Japanese for Apple iOS users. The reporter also noticed that as of January 23, "Travel Frog" has become the number one free download on the Apple App Store.

The game is easy to operate. You can use the corresponding number of clovers to exchange for food, notebooks, sleeping bags, bowls, lanterns and other items, and prepare the equipment for your frog in the bag when going out. Correspondingly, the frog will "send" postcards to the player during the trip, and will bring back local specialties from the travel destination after returning home. In this game, the universal "currency" is clovers, which are also the only items that can be recharged and purchased. Because of its long time-consuming and slow pace, this game has been highly sought after since its appearance and is called the "Buddhist frog-raising" game.

However, the reporter noticed that in some strategy guides, some players revealed that the more clovers you have, the higher-level items you can buy. During this period, some online sellers saw business opportunities and took the opportunity to launch "plug-in" services, claiming that they can allow players to obtain a large number of clovers.

Visit

The price of "2.1 billion clover" on the Internet is 20 to 50 yuan

On January 23, the reporter searched for "Travel Frog" on the online shopping platform and found that many merchants were selling "plug-in" services, with prices ranging from 20 yuan to 50 yuan. Many merchants promised that after purchasing the service, they would provide "2.1 billion unlimited clovers" and "990 lottery tickets", and support any mobile phone system. Buyers can choose to keep their previous game records, or choose to overwrite and start over.

The reporter noticed that the plug-in service launched by one of the merchants showed a monthly sales volume of 2,148, with 1,188 people paying. Many buyers left messages in the comment area saying that after the purchase, their frogs became "tycoons" and could shop at will. Some buyers posted screenshots of the game page showing that the number of their clovers became "999999", which is the upper limit set by the game. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter noticed that at present, through regular recharge channels, players can only buy 2,800 four-leaf clovers for a maximum of 25 yuan, which is a huge difference from the number provided by the "plug-in" merchants.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily randomly consulted a merchant who sells services for 20 yuan. He said that before using the "plug-in", you need to back up the contents of your phone. After the backup is completed, you need to log in to QQ on your computer and save the game. After that, the buyer can operate according to the tutorial sent by the merchant, but the merchant said that it is more recommended that players let the merchant operate remotely.

investigation

Improper operation of "plug-in" may turn your phone into a "brick"

On the afternoon of January 23, the reporter bought a set of "20 yuan for three-leaf clovers". Afterwards, the merchant sent the reporter from Beijing Youth Daily two links and the logo of the data file of "Travel Frog" in the mobile device. The reporter from Beijing Youth Daily clicked on the first link and was prompted to download a compressed file package. After decompression, the data displayed after recharging 999999 three-leaf clovers in "Travel Frog" was displayed. The second link corresponded to the game modification tutorial in iOS Apple mobile phones.

However, the Beijing Youth Daily reporter found that there were many hidden dangers during the operation. Many iOS players pointed out that their game data and mobile phone data were lost for no reason after installation, including WeChat chat records, pictures and videos in the mobile phone, etc. Some players also said that after installation, their Apple mobile phones had vulnerabilities and could not send and receive text messages. After flashing the phone, there was no improvement.

In this regard, the merchant explained that buyers may have to bear the risk of data loss on different mobile phone systems while operating the "plug-in" program. "Take Apple mobile phone users as an example. If the user's system is iOS9 or below, nothing will be lost. If the user is iOS10, the cache will be lost. iOS11 will not only lose the cache, but all software will be reloaded."

In addition, the merchants also said that in order to avoid improper operation, they would often suggest that buyers agree to their remote control. When asked whether remote control would leak privacy, the merchants said "I guarantee I won't see it."

remind

Apple customer service says "hacks" may leak personal IDs

An independent game developer told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that the "plug-in" of "Travel Frog" is actually very simple, which is to modify the game data. Merchants only need to recharge to purchase the "clove limit" in the game, obtain the corresponding data, and then copy the corresponding data to the buyer through the program. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter calculated that it costs 8,929 yuan to recharge the full amount of clovers, and based on a single price of 20 yuan and a monthly sales volume of 1,188 transactions, the merchant has earned more than 23,000 yuan.

A few days ago, the reporter called Apple customer service staff, who said that in addition to causing loss of mobile phone data and information, this type of operation to modify game coins (clovers) poses certain security risks to users. "Sometimes it may leak the user's personal privacy, or some Trojan software may be installed during the operation, causing problems in subsequent use of the device."

The customer service staff pointed out that if the user agrees to remote operation by the other party, there may be a risk of having the Apple ID account stolen, "the merchant may use this opportunity to lock the user's phone and extort money." He reminded that it is best not to let strangers install or modify relevant data in the user's mobile device.