Strange Push Notifications in Android Google Maps

Android users have reported receiving spam notifications through the popular Google Maps app. The notification asks the user to share their location in order to get something for free. It is unclear what the purpose of the spam is, and where it is coming from.

There seem to be a few different notifications popping up that different people are experiencing:

• “You Have Received a Free Prize from Google”
• “You Have Received a Free Prize”
• “Congratulations for Winning Pixel”

Other users have reported different messages in addition to these.

Most Android users who have received these notifications simply blocked them and took no further action. However, some users did share their location because they thought it may be coming from a local shop offering discounts or prizes. These users reported that nothing happened after they did share their location.

Our advice is to not share your location with unknown parties since their intentions may be malicious and you don’t know what they are going to do with that data.

There are no reports yet as to what this information is being gathered or used for, or who is conducting the attack. We expect more details to follow as and when more information is available, we assume security researchers are working hard on resolving the origin of these push notifications. No iPhone users of Google Maps have reported being affected, this seems to be a specific Andriod issue.