And because this bogus version comes up front and center, it’s the one that keeps getting downloaded. It’s even made its way to the sixth most downloaded free app in the Utilities section of the iPhone version of the App Store, and comes in at number four on the iPad. Its meteoric rise to the top is most likely due in part to the sheer number of Christmas gifts being activated but still, wow.
How to spot a fake
Keep in mind that this seems to be somewhat of a unique situation, since Apple’s app approval guidelines are typically very strict. And it’s even more surprising that it’s still available to download as of late Thursday morning. Maybe key App Store staff are still on Christmas vacation? But these apps do slip past sometimes, especially at the Google Play Store. For this app, the official version is developed by AMZN Mobile, LLC, so look for that before downloading. And it shows up in the App Store’s Music section, not Utilities. If you have an Alexa-enabled Fire tablet, the real app is downloaded automatically. Bonus: Alexa shares more than 1,500 private conversations with complete stranger
There are a number of ways to spot a fake, or at the very least, suspicious app:
Again, check out the reviews. Look for bad reviews along with how many there are total. Read many of them, because some of those reviews are just as fake as the app itself.Look to see how many times it’s been downloaded, if the information is available.Run a search on the app or the developer on Google or another search engine to see if any major complaints or concerns come up.Look for typos, grammatical errors, etc.See if the app or developer has a real website or any social media accounts.
