The Android market has recently been open to scamming involving the popular Angry Birds application. UF’s Office of Information and Security Compliance issued a warning on February 14 to inform students that fake applications of the game could steal banking, shopping, and contact information.
A victim of the scam, freshman Dylan Lucas, believes this sort of thing can happen to any student. “I was so eager to play the game, I just answered any question they threw at me. I thought it was a bit fishy when they asked for my credit card, pin, and social security number, but I figured nothing bad could happen. I just needed my Angry Birds fix.”
Managing editor of NetTech Security, Steve Gallici, stated that the scam company used a capital “l” instead of a lowercase “l” in the word “Mobile” to enter in the Android market with what appeared to be the same name as the Angry Birds creator.
“Scams like these are easily avoidable,” Gallici went on to say. “People should take notice of capital letters awkwardly being positioned in words. Like seriously, who would buy an app under the name MobiLe? Or at the very least, people should purchase better apps, like Temple Run.”
The reason that these scams are on the Android and not Apple is because Apple apps are tested to make sure that they are safe. Sophomore Tracy Nichols is still bitter about the scam. “Talk about a terrible day. First I find out that scammers have my pin number and even worse, I can’t play Angry Birds! What am I supposed to do in class now, take notes?”
By now, hopefully students will take notice of the foul bird games. For students wishing not to get scammed by Angry Birds, either get an iPhone or don’t be dumb. Or just purchase better apps.
