Google issues Play Store credit for those who bought the fake “Virus Shield” app

[Guest Jack Holt]

A little less than two weeks ago, there was a story involving a prominent rise of a fake virus scanning app called “Virus Shield.” In its moments in the Play Store it garnered over 10,000 downloads and a pretty impressive rating of 4.7. However a break down by the folks over at Android Police showed the app was nothing more but a few images and a toggle that did not much of anything. The app was a fake.

 

After the news broke, Google quickly removed the app from the Play Store. While the developer did tell

The Guardian that the version of the app that was uploaded to Play Store was a mistake and not the correct version of the app, the developers shoddy history doesn’t lend any credibility to his argument. He also made a claim that he attempted to remove that version of the app before his developer account was suspended. Even so Google is attempting to make amends.

 

 

For those people that actually purchased the app, Google is not only offering a refund, but a $5 credit for the Play Store. The company said this in an email to those affected:

 

Hello,

 

We’re reaching out to you because you recently purchased the “Virus Shield” app on Google Play.

 

This app made the false claim that it provided one-click virus protection; in reality, it did not.

 

Google Play’s policies strictly prohibit false claims like these, and in light of this, we’re refunding you for your “Virus Shield” purchase. You should see funds returned to your account within the next 14 days.

 

Additionally we’d like to offer you $5 promotional credit, which can be used to purchase digital content on Google Play such as apps, games, books, music and movies.

 

Your credit redemption code is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Click or tap here to redeem. For help redeeming, please visit our

Help Center

.

 

We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused; rest assured that we’re always working to make Google Play better for our users.

 

Thank you,

Google Play Support

 

If you were one of the ones who purchased the app, you should be seeing that email in your inbox shortly. While the fact that an app like this somehow managed to jump to the top of the charts is a bit concerning it’s good to see Google attempting to right that wrong.

 

source: Android Police

 

 

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