Virus Shield, which managed to hit the no. 1 spot in the paid category, has been pulled from Google Play after it turned out to be a fake app that actually did nothing except displaying an icon that changes.
Virus Shield claimed to be a security solution that prevented harmful apps from being installed. Further the app also claimed that it scanned apps, settings, files and media to protect users’ personal information.
Beyond that Virus Shield also noted in its description that it didn’t have any advertisements and required no permissions, and on top of that has a very low impact on battery life.
All this seems too good to be true as being sold for $3.99 a pop, Virus Shield may have been the perfect security app one could have on Android.
However, the app is a fake as it did nothing but change the icon pretending to check the smartphone for viruses. Further, the app managed to fool as many as 10,000 users grossing its makers a whopping $40,000 for nothing.
According to Android Police, which uncovered the scam, “This is fraud, pure and simple, and the developer “Deviant Solutions” potentially made considerable amounts of money based on a complete lie.”
To prove their claims, Android Police went to the extent of decompiling the app and posting the Java Code at github.
