In a breathtaking demonstration of how to be spectacularly incompetent at cybersecurity, 224 Android apps banded together in a rousing rendition of ‘Ad Fraud: The Musical’. This massive production attracted 38 million downloads across 228 countries, including mythical lands like Elbonia and Atlantis, proving that anyone with a smartphone can participate in a global crime ring from the comfort of their couch.

These digital bandits employed steganography, the high-tech equivalent of smuggling moonshine in a paper bag, to deliver their fraud payloads. Meanwhile, hidden WebViews were busily at work, navigating to threat actor-owned cashout sites faster than a teenager changing the TV channel when their parents walk in. The result? A whopping 2.3 billion daily ad bids, which some might say is just slightly more ambitious than most people’s step goals.

While many thought they were downloading innocuous apps named things like ‘Calculator Plus’ or ‘Weather Widget Deluxe’, they were actually inviting these cyber fraud celebrities into their lives. The lesson here is clear: before you hit ‘Download’, check that your nifty app isn’t moonlighting as the mask-wearing bandit in the digital wild west of app stores.