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Fake WhatsApp was downloaded more than a million times

If ever an argument was needed that the Google Play Store is in dire need of curating, this weekend provided one in the form a spoof version of WhatsApp.

The fake popped up on the Play Store and was downloaded more than a million times before some eagle-eyed folk over on Reddit’s forums noticed it was a spoof. Folks who didn’t notice this and who downloaded the fake app ended up with a stack of adverts rather than a messenger app.

According to Hacker News, the reason this spoof fooled so many people is because the crafty so-and-so’s who put it in the Play Store did so under the moniker “WhatsApp Inc”, which is the same name the maker of the world-famous app uses.

However, the app maker used a Unicode space after the name, which in computer code reads WhatsApp+Inc%C2%A0. In other words, thanks to that space, which is invisible to most browsers and users, the fake app looked legit.

Fortune Magazine points out that instances like this aren’t exactly uncommon on the Google Play Store. At the time of writing, a quick search reveals there are several phoney WhatsApp applications masquerading as the real thing. They all also have high-ratings, presumably to help fool unaware punters into downloading them.

 

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