A shocking smartphone scam has been discovered that holds porn users to ransom.
Researchers at security firm Zscaler, have found a malicious porn app that gains access to the owners smartphone camera.
Adult Player appears to offer free pornography, but when the app is launched the front-facing camera snaps a secret picture of the user.
The owners smartphone then displays a lock screen with a message demanding $500 (£320) to release the device.
According to Zscaler, the lock screen was almost impossible to bypass leaving users no option but to pay the fee.
Speaking about the latest attack on a blog post, Zscaler confirmed: 'This ransomware acts as a porn app named "Adult Player" and lures victims who assume it is a pornographic video player.
'When the victim starts using it, the app silently takes a photo of the victim, which is then displayed on the ransomware screen, along with the ransom message.
'The app demands a ransom of 500 USD.'
One security expert said that ransomware was a lucrative and growing area of cybercrime.
And recent research has revealed that ransomware increased 127% since 2014.
Adult Player is an Android-based app that can be downloaded via adult websites – it's not available on Google Play or the Apple Store.
Zscaler recommend that anybody with Adult Player on their device should reboot their handset into "safe mode".
Smartphone users should also avoid downloading apps from unofficial websites and app stores.Source: Daily Star.
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