Scam Alert: Sate the urge for Angry Birds on the Android Market wisely

Well, with 500 million downloads it was only a matter of time, right? The Gadgets reports that the Android Market has fallen victim to a scam sullying the good Angry Birds maker's name: Rovio.

The website reports that fake apps and games using the company's name have appeared on the Market, including Angry Birds 3D, which doesn't exist. Shop today with caution.

Luckily, that isn't terribly difficult, as the scammers in question weren't terribly thorough. For instance, a number of the fake games, which will charge your account if purchased, sold by "Rovio" were never developed nor published by the company. Take a look at this list and tell us if Rovio created or published any of the following games:

    Alive 4 Ever
    Call of Duty Zombies
    Angry Birds 3D
    Zombieville
    Zombie Highway
    Tiny Wings
    Catch the Candy
    Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift
    Rat on a Skateboard
    Zombie Gunship
    Resident Evil 4
    Siege Hero

Rovio Mobile Ltd.
Nope, not a single one of these "games" were created by Rovio. Here's the second dead giveaway that this is, in fact, a scam. Check the developer's name attached to each of these games: It simply reads "ROVIO". The official developer name for Rovio on the Android Market is "ROVIO MOBILE LTD." Unfortunately, players who fell for the scam report that they're stuck with broken apps and the so-called developer will not refund them.

The above image shows what games made by Rovio will look like--notice the company name. Regardless, we'd avoid buying the above games at all until Google sorts out the situation. As a general rule of thumb, we'd recommend vetting an app before buying it from the Android Market through--what else?--Google, silly.

[Via and Image Credit: TechCrunch]

Have you ever been scammed through the Android Market? Where do you prefer to purchase your Android games?