Google refunds buyers of fake antivirus app, Virus Shield

A while ago, Virus Shield was seen on the Google Play store which insisted to be an antivirus app for Android. The app claimed that it could prevent harmful apps from being installed on the device.

BBC reported that Android Police, after a thorough test, discovered the app was a fake. When a user taps on the icon to enable it, all the app would do is change the icon and nothing apart from that.

After the discovery of the fake app, which was being sold online for $3.99, Google has removed the app from the Google Play store. The app was hosted on 28 March and was pulled down on 6 April.

Google has been refunding users who have purchased the app from the Google Play store. Google has sent an email to users of the purchased app informing them that they would get a full refund and the payment would be reversed within the next 15 days into their respective accounts. Additionally, Google has also offered a $5 store credit to each of them.

The developer of the app, when speaking to The Guardian, insisted that he had made a foolish mistake and that the app was not intended to for release.