Tech giant Google is reportedly launching a lawsuit against crypto scammers who allegedly used fake Android apps to lure in their victims.
According to a new report from Reuters, Google is suing Chinese nationals Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung in New York, accusing them of stealing digital assets worth tens and thousands of dollars from Google Play App Store customers.
Google says the duo engaged in social engineering to scam people and lure them into their fake Android apps via text messages.
As stated in Google’s complaint, according to Reuters,
“The texts would appear to be from incorrect numbers, but then the texters would initiate conversations with the victims, creating ‘friendships’ and ‘romantic bonds’.”
Google says the scammers would then convince their targets to invest money in fake apps and only let them withdraw small amounts of their “returns” before disappearing completely.
“When users tried to withdraw larger amounts of their ‘earnings’ they were told they would have to pay more money. When victims complained to the ‘friend’ or ‘romantic partner’ who had so helpfully guided them through the process, the ‘friend’ or ‘romantic partner’ simply disappeared.”
The search engine giant says Sun and Cheung have also used YouTube videos, fake press releases and social media marketing to give their apps an appearance of legitimacy.
Google said it had to disable 87 fake apps that have been downloaded a total of 100,000 times worldwide and are linked to the bad actors, the report said.
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