Google approves fake R$130 Call of Duty for Android on the Play Store

Google should be more careful with the apps it approves on the Play Store: a Call of Duty: Mobile game was available for R$129,99 for Android, published by an unofficial account called “Activision PubIishing, lnc”. Activision is indeed preparing a mobile version for Android and iOS, but its app is free-to-play and remains in closed beta.

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The fake account is called “Activision PubIishing, lnc”; in lowercase, the name is “activision pubiishing, lnc”. Notice that she uses the capital “i” to look like the letter “L”, and the lowercase “L” to look like the letter “i”. It's a clear sign of a scam, but someone at Google didn't notice.

So let's go to the description. The person responsible for this fake listing didn't even bother to create something minimally legitimate: he just copied the text of the original app with the name of some buttons ("OPEN IN PLAY STORE APP") and the alternative text of the images ("Cover art ” and “Screenshot ImageScreenshot ImageScreenshot Image”).

Unfortunately, the developer page on the Play Store looked legit: there was a Call of Duty: Black Ops II banner and the Activision logo. Meanwhile, the official Activision account only has the icons of the three games published by it on the store (Call of Duty Companion App, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies and Call of Duty: Mobile).

After a complaint from Android Police, the fake game was removed from the Play Store. On your computer, you can report apps to Google via this link. On mobile, you need to open the menu (button “…” in the upper right corner), tap on “Flag as inappropriate” and fill out the form.

It's not the first time something like this has happened. This year, Kaspersky Lab revealed that fake digital CNH and IPVA 2019 apps were downloaded 17 times on the Play Store, through an account called “Ministry of Technology”. In the past, the Google store also hosted a fake WhatsApp, downloaded over 1 million times; and malware apps that recorded audio.

The real Call of Duty: Mobile game will be an online multiplayer game and will arrive this year on iPhone and Android. It is being developed by Tencent, bringing maps, weapons and characters from Black Ops and Modern Warfare. For now, the app is in closed beta in India for testing; no release date yet.