Warning: Android Market Contains Fake, Copycat Applications

One of my Droid friends recently asked me what iPhone app my kids enjoyed playing the most. He said that he could get the game for his Android device as well; however, it turned out to be a fake, bogus application instead. We decided to search on the Android Market and found several fraudulent applications that were titled the same some popular iPhone apps.

My friend is not the only victim. A recent user emailed me the following: “Help! I’ve recently downloaded a Droid application that turned out to be fake. What do I do?”

Fake applications that are named the same as popular iPhone applications can be found in the Android application market. Some of these have been found and removed. Others continue to exist despite a ton of warning comments from people who were tricked into purchasing the application.

Firefox, TweetDeck, and Angry Birds — all have been faked on the Android Market.

If you do download a fake or fraudulent application, you have 24 hrs to ask for a refund. Leave a comment in the Android store as well to prevent others from downloading the evil app.