AdMob keeps serving fake virus / malware scare ads in my app. Users think my app is malware. What can I do?
I’m using AdMob interstitials only, with no mediation.
Over the past months I’ve received multiple complaints from users saying my app is showing malware/phishing ads. Some users uninstall the app, leave bad feedback, or assume that my app itself is malware.
The ads are the classic fake Android/Google warning scams:
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“Your Google Play account will be suspended today”
“We found 61 viruses attacking your system”
“Your Android is severely damaged by junk files”
“Click OK to install an app and fix it”
“Photos deleted 3 years ago were found on your device”
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These are app-install ads that redirect users to Google Play. Users often think the warning comes from my app, not from the ad, so I get angry emails, uninstalls, and bad reviews.
I’ve been trying to handle this manually by:
- Blocking individual apps in AdMob
- Blocking advertiser URLs
- Reporting the ads
But it feels like whack-a-mole. New apps and creatives keep appearing with the same scareware format.
What frustrates me is that this seems like a clear Google/AdMob failure. These ads are not subtle policy edge cases. The text is obvious spam/scareware: fake virus counts, fake Google warnings, fake Android damage alerts, and instructions to install another app. It is hard to understand how this passes ad review or why Google can’t automatically filter creatives with this kind of wording before they are served to users.
Is there a more effective way to stop these ads in AdMob?
I’ll attach screenshots of the ads and user complaints. Any advice from other publishers would be appreciated.