14 DAY TRIAL // Spam messages relating to Glide video messaging app for Android and iOS have been observed to leverage Bit.ly short links to direct recipients to the app’s website.
Anti-spam protection company Cloudmark noticed that a new series of unsolicited messages are being delivered to users luring them into clicking on a short link that takes them to Glide.me, where they can download the Glide app for their mobile device.
Glide is a video messaging app that allows its users to record and deliver clips to their contacts, regardless if the intended recipient is online or not. The service relies on cloud storage to save the video files.
The developer initiated spam campaigns in the past in order to increase its user base, but said that they would give up such practices to gather a larger audience.
However, Cloudmark has seen a new batch of messages promoting the application. These could be considered deceitful in some way because they do not mention Glide. Instead, they incite the receiver to click on a shortened URL that leads to Glide.me.
Examples of such unsolicited content are: “Check out this app! :) http://bit.ly/1oXkplq,” or “I look good on this! http://bit.ly/1nnTaMw.” Of course, these are sent by someone known to the recipient.
In the FAQ section, the company behind the video app says that “the text(s) you received are from people who have your phone number and chose to invite you to Glide.” A solution to putting an end to this activity is provided, although it involves giving your phone number and email address to the company.
According to Cloudmark’s Brock Henry, the campaign seems to have been started on June 17, 2014, a short link being created every ten minutes. They all lead to the app’s website.
“A more cynical person might say that Glide knows that their messages aren’t particularly welcome, and are intentionally making them vague and difficult to block,” he writes in a blog post.
Henry took a closer look at the links and discovered that some of them had been accessed more than 1,000 times. Then he did some math and reached the conclusion that in a month, about 4.3 million individuals accessed the app creator’s website.
However, these numbers are only rough estimates, because there are variables that can influence them.
Since the messages are sent from a Glide user’s phone, they may be subject to data or carrier fees. SMS spam messages can be reported to 7726 from Android or iOS devices.