With Angry Birds, Rovio found a way to transform normal, healthy people into raging bird-flinging addicts. This isn’t really that big of a deal — at least not in most cases — unless some shady app developers begin impersonating Rovio and selling fake apps on the Android Market. Did I mention that some shady app developers have started impersonating Rovio and selling fake apps on the Android Market?

Google has been notified of the issue and has responded saying they are working on a resolution, according to The Gadgets. Instead of “Rovio Mobile Ltd.” (which is what you should see under Developer name for any Angry Birds game), the devs are calling themselves simply “Rovio” or other variations of the word, so be sure to look for “Rovio Mobile Ltd.” exactly.

Incorrect:

Correct:

Fake apps include 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, and Siege Hero. Already-scammed customers say that the developers aren’t offering any refunds and that the apps don’t work.

If you do a little investigating into one of these rogue apps, you’ll notice that the developer website links lead to dead websites and that the app descriptions are copied and pasted from legitimate apps’ info pages. You should always remember to shop safely in the Android Market, but during the holidays more than ever try to be extra careful reading through reviews, descriptions, and check out the developers’ site before just hitting install.

Crunchbase

• ROVIO ENTERTAINMENT

Company: Rovio Entertainment

Website: rovio.com

Funding: $42M

Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company based in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game, became an international phenomenon within a year of release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Following this success in mobile gaming, Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand.

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