>If some idiot roots their phone and downloads malware, the bank may be responsible for refunding them.
I keep reading this justification, and it doesn't make an ounce of sense to me.
first of all, the number of people who want to root their phones is a fraction of 1%. children, teenage girls, and senile boomers don't do that. the number of people with rooted phones who could fall for "hello sir, I am sir John Whiteman from Microsoft, you're phone have virus, sir, please do the needful install this a pee kaa, sir" is near zero.
second of all, phones get stolen all the time, and it would make sense to reduce liability by not providing apps at all.
it's security theater.
> people who want to root their phones is a fraction of 1%. children, teenage girls…
If someone lies to them and tells them there is an app that lets them get free Roblox bucks or whatever, but first they have to root their phone, they will. If someone lies or makes an app that removes pimples or adds makeup in realtime, or something, but they make it only work on rooted phones, they will.
I did a rough estimate of all the people I know and the number of those people who would want to root their phone. It’s not a big number but it’s way bigger than “a fraction of 1%”.
And it’s a completely different demographic than those would would fall for the phone call scam, but it’s incredibly disingenuous of you to suggest that the only malware distribution vector is being tricked into installing an APK.
I know people who are interested in modding games, pirating software, and installing “cool” apps just for the novelty. I would argue the most likely reason those people installed malware is voluntarily, because they searched out a hacked version of Bloons Tower Defence. Not because they “needed to pay an outstanding Windows service bill”.