Tag: Google Play

How to sell a $100 Google Play Card in Nigeria
Exchanging your gift cards for cash in Nigeria is now quite easy compared to the earlier struggle. You can decide to sell any gift card in your possession for some naira. Whether you have a Google Play Card, Steam Gift Card, Amazon Gift Card, or any other, you can redeem them for money in Nigeria.

What is important is finding a reliable platform where you can exchange them for the best exchange rates and get paid within a few minutes.

Are you curious about how to sell a $100 Google Play Card in Nigeria? Here is a guide on how to do that seamlessly.

What is Google Play?

Google Play is the famous Google’s main store where Android apps, e-books, music, games, and movies are hosted.

As an Android user, you can easily download any content directly from the Play Store app into your mobile device.

Just the same way, you can also send content from the Google Play store to your Android phone.

What is Google Gift Card?

Google Play Gift Card is one of the famous and mostly traded gift cards in Nigeria. It is sold by different retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Walgreens, Target, etc., and can be used as a substitute payment means to pay for apps, music, and games on the Play Store.

It can also be used as gifts for Android users who love ordering digital products. If you would prefer to have some extra cash, you can choose to redeem Google Play gift card.

Google Play Gift Card is available in different forms and values. It must be activated before it can be used just like other gift cards. It can come in physical form as a plastic card or as an ecode which you can get through email or phone number when bought online. Generally, the physical card has a higher value than the ecode.

The resell value is quite high because of its popularity as there is always a high demand for Google play gift cards. This positively affects its value leading to its high rates.

It is also available in various currencies including the UK, US, EURO, CAD, CHF, and more. It also comes in various nominations like 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500.

Interestingly, this card does not expire and it’s quite seamless to operate. You only need to be aware of the balance on the card and fund it when necessary.

How much is a $100 Google play gift card today?

Currently, a $100 Google play gift card is between 27, 000 to 31, 000 naira. Be aware that the amount will always differ as the rates are subject to change. The resell value for a Google gift card or any gift card is not fixed.

There are platforms that have gift card rate calculators which would allow you to find the current value at any given time. This is another reason to always opt for the best platform.

How to Redeem a Google Play Gift Card?

Google Play Gift Card is now very much popular in Nigeria. A lot of people that own this card or are gifted are curious about the best and most secure platforms to sell their gift cards.

Unfortunately, scam sites are now rampant due to the high demand for Google gift cards. These false platforms disguise themselves as trading platforms and rip people off. This has spread distrust among people and kept them on their toes regarding where to sell their gift cards.

It is very important to do proper research and get to know about the secure trading platform in Nigeria. Ensure to go with the best choice so you can feel safe while carrying out your exchange.

You can choose to sell Google Play gift card for cash or redeem it on your android device to purchase games, music, games, or books with the balance.

Possible Errors While Redeeming a Google Play Gift Card

As much as you can resolve the following errors, ensure to buy your Google Play gift card from authorized stores so you won’t have to encounter them.
- “The code you entered had already been redeemed on a different account” – this means your card was either taken or used. Make sure to submit your complaint to Google Play support and the retail store you purchased it from.
- “Your code could not be redeemed” – this error comes up when your gift card is not activated yet. Just like other gift cards, it is necessary to activate your Google gift card. This process is required to prevent fraud and theft. You can report this to the store you purchased it and they will help you activate it.
- “This code didn’t work. Try again” – this might be because the code is incorrect. The code might have been typed wrongly. So, make sure to avoid errors while entering the code.
- “We need more info to redeem this card” – this is more common but the cause can’t be traced. When you encounter this error, make sure to report it to the store you bought it from.
How to Avoid Google Play Gift Card Scams?

If you want to exchange Google Play gift card for cash, be cautious of the following signs to prevent scams:
- Any promise of high deals that sounds too good to be true
- Stay away from any platform that uses middlemen
- Avoid using traders with bad reviews
- Platforms with a bad reputation are a no-no
- Ignore social media groups’ gift card trading
Conclusion

Choosing to trade Google Play Gift Cards is a good decision. Due to their high demand, the rates are always juicy. Being intentional about trading the gift card on a perfect site is an ever wiser move.

Look out for “true” high rates and where your information is secured. It is also important to consider 24/7 customer support in case you need assistance on spot.

Finally, how to redeem your gift card online is straightforward. Enjoy fast payment and smooth transactions as you trade!
August 20, 2022
NERC to launch power outage reporting app

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday said it would soon launch a power outage reporting application aimed at addressing complaints on power outages across the country.

The Vice-Chairman, NERC, Dr Musiliu Oseni, disclosed this at the inauguration of Ogun Complaints Forum Office, located at Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta.

Oseni said the development of the app would help NERC to ease and fast-track the process of reporting power outages and improving electricity supply in Nigeria

“This is part of our efforts at leveraging on technology to address complaints on power outage,” he said

He explained that the application would be integrated to the systems of the various electricity distribution companies (Discos) which would trigger alerts immediately power outage complaints were made by customers.

“Already the app can be downloaded through Google Play or Apple Store.

“The pilot scheme will start and be rolled out for Abuja customers in the next few weeks and it will thereafter be rolled out nationwide.,” he said.

Oseni explained that the new Ogun forum office was the 31st office established across the country, adding that NERC planned to establish a minimum of one such office in each state of the country to enable electricity consumers to lodge their complaints to NERC.

“The electricity sector is still fraught with a lot of challenges and some of them are beyond the control of the utility providers.

“Some are systemic problems that require strong efforts and commitment on the parts of the policymakers, regulators and well-meaning Nigerians.

“The commission wants to ensure that it performs its oversight function rooted in international best practices and without discrimination.

“It is part of efforts to realise these aspirations that this forum office is being unveiled,” he said.

“A five-member panel has been carefully selected from local communities in the state to adjudicate on any complaints brought to the forum.

“The panel will consider each case based on already established rules and laws in tune with the Nigerian constitution and then deliver its ruling on the matter,” he said.

He, however, explained that the first point of call for lodgment and resolution of complaints should be the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), which is the distribution company in charge of Ogun State.

“Only when complaints are not resolved or satisfactorily attended to within two weeks are customers expected to escalate to the NERC forum office,” he said.

The Chief Operating Officer of IBEDC, Mr. John Ayodele, in his address, noted that the development was a demonstration of NERC’s commitment to putting the customers first.

Ayodele, represented by Deolu Ijose, Chief Commercial Officer, IBEDC, said the forum was in line with the firm’s goal of taking service delivery to higher heights through “customer-centric initiatives”.

He encouraged IBEDC customers in Ogun to take advantage of various platforms created by the firm and the NERC to get their complaints resolved.

“With over two million customers across our franchise of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara and parts of Ekiti, Kogi and Niger, some customer’ dissatisfaction are bound to happen.

“The push back from the Service-Based Tariff (SBT), capping methodology, general economic situation and the unrealistic expectations from customers who still consider power as a social service are factors that constantly generate controversies.

“Hence, the need for the NERC forum office which will serve as an unbiased arbiter,” he said.

Ayodele noted that over 134,000 of the 159,000 complaints received across IBEDC’s franchise in 2021 were resolved.

He expressed optimism that the forum office will mediate over knotty issues and also help to educate customers on their rights and obligations

February 24, 2022
Google cracks down on multimillion-dollar ad fraud scheme

Google has removed and blacklisted several apps and websites after an investigation revealed that over 125 Android apps and websites were involved in a multimillion-dollar ad fraud scheme.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the apps installed on millions Android devices were able to track behaviour of users and carry out the massive multimillion-dollar ad fraud scheme.
BuzzFeed News had uncovered the ad fraud where cybercriminals were using more than 125 popular Android apps and websites to track users behaviour and earn millions of dollars through ad views/clicks.
The report said that a front company called ‘We Purchase Apps’ would buy legitimate and popular apps, available on Google Play, from developers.
Those apps would then get their ownership transferred over to shell companies that would continue to manage the apps.
Also, they were found to be analyzing users behaviour and interactions with the apps. Some of these apps were shown to be targeted at children.
The report explained that these shell companies were running the purchased apps same as before to avoid any additional scrutiny. Meanwhile, they would be analyzing the behaviour of the app users.
Protected Media, a cybersecurity firm told BuzzFeed that the collected data was used to create a botnet system that would pretend to be actual users.
Using the huge number of botnets, the cybercriminals managed to show an inflated number of users to advertisers.
Clearly, Google’s and advertisers’ fraud detection tools could not catch them.
The apps have a combined download of more than 115 million, the report claimed.
The criminals managed to reap millions of dollars in ad revenue from companies paying to advertise with in-app ad networks. It is a shrewd system as it can hide invalid bot traffic amidst regular user data, making it tougher for anti-fraud systems to identify.
Meanwhile, Google was informed about the fraudulent scheme by BuzzFeed News, following which, it claims to have removed the apps.
Further, the company has also blacklisted additional apps and websites that are outside of its ad network, so that advertisers using Display and Video 360 do not buy any of the traffic.
“While our analysis of the operation is ongoing, we estimate that the dollar value of impacted Google advertiser spend across the apps and websites involved in the operation is under $10 million.
“The majority of impacted advertiser spend was from invalid traffic on inventory from non-Google, third-party ad networks,” Per Bjorke, Product Manager, Ad Traffic Quality, Google, said, in an official blog post.
Bjorke also noted that the reported fraud is allegedly utilized by the same group that generates web-based traffic using a botnet called ‘TechSnab’.
He said that Google and other companies have been tracking the botnet for a long time.

October 24, 2018
Top list 2017: TheNewsGuru mobile app performing best on Google Play Store as Google shares best apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books of 2017
In continuing with its annual tradition, Google on Friday announced the best and most popular apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books of 2017 on the Google Play apps store.

While Game of Thrones emerged the most popular TV show on Google Play for the second year in a row, Rick and Morty and The Walking Dead are on the second and third positions, respectively.

Kendrick Lamar has become the most streamed song of this year, while Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You is now the second-most streamed song worldwide, whereas His DNA holds the number three spot.

Nintendo’s “Super Mario Run” was the most downloaded new game of the year, but not all bubbles were burst, as “Bubble Witch 3 Saga” was closely behind at number two.

Photo Editor – Beauty Camera & Photo Filters was the most downloaded new app with fans touching up their favorite photos for social media.

TheNewsGuru.com mobile app is outperforming news apps on the Google Play, and the app has recorded tremendous downloads barely three months of its release.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Click/tap image above to download TheNewsGuru.com mobile app

“To close out another great year for Google Play, we’re sharing the best and most popular apps, games, music, movies, TV shows and books in 2017.

“We also have curated lists this year from our editors to help you find the best apps and games of 2017, such as “Socratic – Math Answers & Homework Help” and “CATS: Crash Area Turbo Stars,” respectively,” Brett Bouchard, Global Head of Apps & Store Engagement, Merchandising, Google Play, said announcing the list.

Most Popular New Apps of 2017
Top Trending New Games of 2017
Top Five Streamed Songs of 2017
Top Five Movies of 2017
Top Five TV Shows of 2017
Top Five Books of 2017
Download TheNewsGuru.com mobile app here
December 1, 2017
Be warned! Malicious web ad, Ks Cleaner is infecting Android phones

Savvy Internet users know not to click on strange links, but malvertising, malicious code, Ks Cleaner hidden within otherwise innocuous advertisements, presents a more pernicious problem, especially for smartphones.

A new malvertising campaign isn’t content to just redirect your web browser to unsafe sites. If you’re using an Android phone, it downloads and installs an Android app that can compromise your entire phone, with no known panacea.

The trap is easy to avoid, but once it’s sprung, it’s sprung for good.

Zscaler ThreatLabZ team, a San Jose, California-based security firm discovered the issue while scouring the Godlike Productions forums, a hotbed of UFO and conspiracy theory activity.

A Godlike Productions page surrounded by iffy ads

Advertisements on the forum automatically install an Android APK known as ‘kskas.apk’ to users’ phones. The program calls itself ‘Ks Clean’ and promises to clean out Android device.

Once installed, though, it claims that the phone is vulnerable to a security loophole and requires an update to safeguard the device, the update, of course, is in reality another app, and a much more malicious one. This one requires administrative privileges to install, which means that the ‘update’ app can control your phone at the deepest level.

Once installed, the update app takes no interest in either cleaning your system or plugging security gaps. Instead, it plasters your home screen with obnoxious advertisements.

While it doesn’t seem to be anything more malicious than that at the moment, it does communicate to its masters using a fairly complex command-and-control server, and could distribute actual malware if its creator so desired.

What you need to do

The good news is that avoiding the problem is extremely simple, and you may not even be susceptible to it in the first place.

In order for apps from sources other than the Google Play store to be installed, users must go into Security–>Settings and allow apps from “Unknown Sources.” That function is a security risk, and is disabled by default.

Still, if you use third-party app stores (like 1Mobile Market or the Amazon Appstore), you have already enabled Unknown Sources that is!

To disable the feature, check your phone’s settings. Enabling and disabling third-party app installation will be under the Security menu, although that menu’s location may vary depending on your phone.

If you have visited the forum, it means you are already infected.

Uninstalling the app is impossible, since ‘update’ controls the device at an administrative level.

Any attempt to get rid of it forces the phone into a lock screen, and at the time of writing, there’s no way around it.

Your only recourse is to perform a factory reset on the phone, and depending on how much data you have saved on your device, this could range from inconvenient to disastrous.

If you have to keep installing third-party apps, you can still avoid this particular menace by just denying Ks Cleaner or its update permissions when they try to install.

A good Android antivirus program should also catch the app and quarantine it before it has a chance to do any damage.

As for Godlike Productions, Zscaler was unable to find the particular ads that triggered the malicious APK.

Stay safe! To share with your loved ones, hit the share buttons below.

June 9, 2017
Android malware, ‘Judy’ hits as many as 36.5 million phones

The security firm, Checkpoint, on Thursday has uncovered dozens of Android applications that infected users’ devices with malicious ad-click software.

In at least one case, an app bearing the malware was available through the Google Play app store for more than a year, according to a Fortune report.

According to the report, while the actual extent of the malicious code’s spread is unknown, Checkpoint says it may have reached as many as 36.5 million users, making it potentially the most widely-spread malware yet found on Google Play.

Google removed the apps after being notified by Checkpoint, it said.

The malicious apps primarily included a series of casual cooking and fashion games under the “Judy” brand, a name borrowed for the malware itself.

The nefarious nature of the programs went unnoticed in large part, according to Checkpoint, because its malware payload was downloaded from a non-Google server after the programs were installed. The code would then use the infected phone to click on Google ads, generating fraudulent revenue for the attacker.

The infection may have spread even more widely than Checkpoint’s estimates, since not all of the extensive line of “Judy” apps are included on Checkpoint’s tally – it’s missing Fashion Judy: Magic Girl Style and Fashion Judy: Masquerade Style, among others.

All installments of the series do appear to have been pulled from Google Play.

The “Judy” apps were published by an apparently Korean entity known as ENISTUDIO. However, iterations of the same attack were found on a handful of apps from other publishers.

This is not the first instance of a malware infestation making it through the screening process on Google Play, nor is it the most damaging – Checkpoint did not find any evidence, for instance, that “Judy” compromised data on infected phones.

That Judy was able to hide on Google Play for so long highlights the tradeoffs of Android operating system, which is often seen as more open but less secure than Apple’s iOS.

May 28, 2017
New Android Malware samples found every 10 sec, claims G Data

It is not a hidden fact that Android is not the safest mobile platform and that its open nature, which is also considered to be one of its biggest strengths, often gives room for vulnerabilities that can be exploited and compromise users’ security.

G Data antivirus software firm has now discovered that the malware-infected applications are increasing at an alarming rate on Google’s mobile platform and at the current speed, 3.5 million new malware samples are expected to be discovered on the OS by the end of this year.

G Data has already discovered around 750,000 malicious Android apps in the first quarter of this year and suggests that the problem is largely associated with third-party devices due to delayed updates, as pointed out in a report by The Next Web.

“Only 4.9 percent of smartphone and tablet users have Android 7 [Nougat], which has been available since August 2016. 20 percent still use version 4.4, 32 percent version 5 and 31.2 percent Android 6.0. The problem is that third party providers do not adapt the new operating system for older devices (“older” in this case meaning one year or more),” G Data said in its blog.

The blog adds that around 8,400 new Android malware samples are discovered everyday, translating to around 350 an hour, and a little over one every ten seconds.

“Sometimes, newer operating system updates are not published at all. Hence, in many cases it can take a long time before any updates are provided. That is, if they are provided at all,” it added. As per the shared data, the number of malicious apps is expected to witness an annual growth from 3.2 million last year.

It is important to note that G Data sells antivirus software for Android and therefore has vested interest in exposing the malware related data on the platform and many of these samples might be restricted to third-party app stores, as pointed out in a report by 9To5Google.

However, it is highly advised that users keep their advices up-to-date and only install verified apps from Google Play store to ensure their security.

May 6, 2017
Samsung launches Focus all-in-one app

Samsung has launched Focus, a utility app that offers a unified experience for mails, contacts and calendars.

Focus is already available for download on Google Play and it provides a unified view for users’ mails, calendar, and contacts for a more organized user experience.

Samsung Focus, which comes with multi-account support, enables “Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), IMAP and POP3 users to manage email, calendar, task, memo, and contacts easily in one place,” the app’s description on Google Play reads.

The list of servers supported by the app include Exchange Server 2003 SP2/SP3 and above, Google, Naver (IMAP/POP3), Office 365, Hotmail, Outlook.com, and other servers that support Exchange ActiveSync.

The main view of the app presents upcoming appointments, important tasks, and messages just like a Google Now feed. There is a universal search option on the top-right while the tabs for quick access to email, calendar, memo, and contacts are present at the bottom of the screen.

“Samsung Focus does not operate any cloud servers. It connects only to the actual mail servers. It stores your account’s data on the device, and Samsung Electronics never accesses any user data,” the company clarifies in a note in its Google Play listing.

However, the app has been made available only for Samsung mobile devices running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow or above.

December 31, 2016