Angry Birds and other Rovio games impersonated by Android Market scammers
Share:
The scammers used the name “Rovio” rather than “Rovio Mobile Ltd.”, and created app names that were similar to legitimate games, like “Angry Birds 3D”. Individuals who bought the fake game were left with non-working apps and were initially unable to get a refund (although we imagine Google will step in here to set things right).
Not everyone can be expected to memorize the names of the legitimate companies (especially if you’re new to buying apps for a smartphone), so here are a couple of things to keep in mind if you’re concerned that an app may not be legitimate:
- Check Reviews: They are there for a reason. If something is a scam it’s likely that people who have been burned will leave comments to that effect.
- Check Permissions: If you are downloading a flashlight app but the permissions ask for access to your personal information and to read and write to your contacts list, something’s probably amiss.
- Check out the number of times an app has been downloaded. If you are getting an app (like Angry Birds) that is supposed to be a huge hit, but it’s only been downloaded a couple thousand times, something stinks.
Checking just these basic things should protect you against most scams and malware, but it’s worth noting that if you are really concerned about scams (and less concerned about openness) you can get your apps from the Amazon App Store. Amazon's store has fewer apps available, but they spend more time vetting them so there’s less chance of getting scammed there.
source: the gadgets via Tech Crunch
Share:
33 Comments
This comment is hidden because of its low rating. Show
3. LordBonztie posted on 28 Nov 2011, 13:44 7 0
why would this show up in the market in the first place?
google allows or they can discard uploaded apps or they should review or test the apps themselves first before they allow it to be published or uploaded in the market.
4. imkyle posted on 28 Nov 2011, 13:46 6 0
I agree. Google needs to better monitor what apps it approves of before going into the market.
28. JeffdaBeat posted on 28 Nov 2011, 16:26 5 0
While I absolutely want Android to keep the market open to different kinds of apps and letting the consumer decide what's appropriate or not, I do think they should be testing each app to be sure they do what they say they do (run on sentence). And test them to be sure they aren't buggy. I think Android could have a pretty legit app store if these were in place.
Apps should misrepresent themselves to the consumer.
6. tacohunter posted on 28 Nov 2011, 13:51 2 1
Well apple started to test all there apps a long time before the android app store even launched. There is a higher standard for ios apps (fact).
Oh yes I just said new information for you. (cough, cough).
Now comment on this I think you gonna say that your apps are of course perfect (better quality), you haven\'t seen ever a fake app, etc. So I\'d say of course you didn\'t. Then you\'re lucky. And in case you will say wrong informaiton about the app store. It does have also like android reviews so you could see if this app is worth installing.
5. gallitoking posted on 28 Nov 2011, 13:50 4 7
ok now i know why the Android market will surpass the Apple store by 2017... with 10 diff version of Angry birds, and all the angry farms animals... hmmmm
10. tacohunter posted on 28 Nov 2011, 14:02 2 4
Open source is the best, isn\'t it? Better quality. More free apps (yeah right), more apps to chose from in 2017. 10 diff versions of angry birds (classic version).
Whoever thinks this. I would recommanded stop using windows and use Linus instead. It\'s open source. The customazation lvl of an android phone (even more, trust me). Cause that is what rly counts.
Use some sort of program so you can use windows and linux (ubuntu) together. Oh yeah it\'s a total free OS. No viruses.
17. andro. posted on 28 Nov 2011, 14:48 4 3
Android market will actually have surpassed ios app store within a few months,however good news for apple fans:
"the quantity and quality of fart apps on apples app store will never be surpassed"
20. tacohunter posted on 28 Nov 2011, 14:56 3 4
They will never surpassed ios app store not even close. Brainwashed by the samsung ad? It just said that there is a good junk of apps both available for ios and android market.
