Ethereum Scam Application Seen on Google Play Store

An Ethereum (ETH) scam application has been spotted on Android’s Google Play Store recently.

This is according to a report seen on The Next Web.

Slovakian malware expert Lukas Stefanko discovered the deceitful “Ethereum” application on Google Play that had been allegedly offered for purchase at price of €335 or around $388.

In a tweet, the researcher said that buying the app is “not the same” as an Ethereum purchase, claiming that his recent discovery is a crypto scam that seeks to defraud users by mimicking the original altcoin Ethereum, which is worth around $290.

Stefanko’s tweet displays that the scam application, which was described through Google Translate as “just a Ethereum,” was worked on by so-called “Google Commerce Ltd,” and has managed to gather over 100 installs since the last update in August 2017.

The authentic name of the developer of Google-backed applications on Google Play Store is “Google LLC.” As of this writing, the application is now unavailable on Google Play.

On July 27, Google had prohibited crypto mining apps on its Play Store, only permitting remote mining applications. According to the report, despite the recent ban, a number of illicit apps such as JSEcoin are still on the store, claiming that Google developers have 30 days from the date of policy changes to comply with regulations.

Earlier in April, the tech giant had also proclaimed the ban of all mining extensions from its Chrome Web Store, as well as all browser extensions to mine cryptocurrency.