{"id":277384,"date":"2024-04-07T12:39:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T10:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/es\/?p=329480"},"modified":"2025-07-01T16:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T23:46:35","slug":"the-scam-of-romantic-apps-with-cryptos-that-google-has-decided-to-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/the-scam-of-romantic-apps-with-cryptos-that-google-has-decided-to-report\/","title":{"rendered":"The scam of romantic apps with cryptos that Google has decided to report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Today&#8217;s story is the classic story we bring on Sundays, as they tell reality in its most unexpected version and there is a lot to talk about. <strong>During the week there is no time for long stories, but today there is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"AppleTV+\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/8f7cb2d7-74e2-4492-af0c-06a1761742a1\/457874704\/apple-tv-plus-2019-03-28_12-07-17.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">AppleTV+<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/apple-tv-plus.en.softonic.com\/mac\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DOWNLOAD<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/apple-tv-plus.en.softonic.com\/mac\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Google has sued two alleged cryptocurrency scammers, <strong>accusing them of using its Play Store to offer fraudulent cryptocurrency trading applications and investment platforms <\/strong>that, instead, simply took users&#8217; money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These applications were used in<strong> a type of romance scam commonly known as &#8220;pig butchering&#8221;<\/strong>, referring to the fattening of a pig before slaughtering it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Google sues two people based in China it says used the company\u2019s platforms to distribute and advertise fraudulent crypto apps <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SOUXP7XfYy\">https:\/\/t.co\/SOUXP7XfYy<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bloomberg (@business) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/business\/status\/1775836586447352079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 4, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">100,000 people scammed and Google is furious<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The accused scammers, two app developers based in China and Hong Kong, allegedly uploaded <strong>87 different fraudulent applications to carry out their scams, attracting over 100,000 people who downloaded them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to user complaints, <strong>Google claims that each of them lost between $100 and tens of thousands of dollars<\/strong>. The apps uploaded by the couple and their anonymous partners have been used in versions of the scam since at least 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/04\/04\/google-sues-crypto-scammers-allegedly-uploading-fake-apps-android-app-store.html#:~:text=Google%20filed%20a%20lawsuit%20on,precedents%20to%20protect%20its%20users.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"according to Google\">according to Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Google says it is the first company in the industry to take this type of action.<\/strong> It has already closed the apps in the Play Store once it determined they were fraudulent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Google sues alleged crypto scammers for luring people into investments they\u2019d never get back <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AHwvfbYk85\">https:\/\/t.co\/AHwvfbYk85<\/a><\/p>&mdash; The Verge (@verge) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/verge\/status\/1775826765333598271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 4, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This litigation is a critical step in holding these bad actors accountable and sending a clear message that we will aggressively pursue those who seek to take advantage of our users,&#8221; said Google&#8217;s General Counsel, Halimah DeLaine Prado, in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Google claims that it was also harmed by the scheme because it threatens the &#8220;integrity&#8221; of its app store<\/strong> and diverted resources to detect and dismantle the operation. The company says it suffered economic damages of over $75,000 investigating the fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How the love and crypto scam worked<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is how the alleged scam worked, according to Google&#8217;s complaint: developers created fake cryptocurrency exchange and investment applications, presenting them on the Play Store as legitimate investment apps and allegedly falsifying details such as their location in order to upload them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, <strong>the alleged scammers or their partners would lure users to the platforms through a mix of romantic messages and YouTube videos<\/strong>. Although this type of scam is often referred to as &#8220;pig butchering,&#8221; Google states in a footnote to its complaint that it does not adopt or endorse the term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pig Butchering Scams: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pLPpl2ISKTg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The initial messages they sent might sound familiar to anyone who has received text spam: messages like &#8220;I&#8217;m Sophia, do you remember me?&#8221; or &#8220;I miss you all the time, how are your parents Mike?&#8221;, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If they received a response, the alleged scammers apparently tried to start a conversation <\/strong>and eventually move it to a platform like WhatsApp, before convincing their new &#8220;friend&#8221; to download one of the fraudulent applications and deposit money into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developers or their partners also sometimes <strong>convinced the alleged victims that they could earn commissions by selling the applications<\/strong> themselves as &#8220;affiliates&#8221; of the platforms, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Google Earth\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-icon-s\/p\/855e97a8-96d0-11e6-9c2c-00163ed833e7\/4242516435\/google-earth-icon.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Google Earth<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-earth.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DOWNLOAD<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--0\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"0\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\"><\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-earth.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Once users were in the applications, developers made the platforms appear convincing by showing a balance and investment performance, claims Google. <strong>The only problem: users couldn&#8217;t withdraw their money.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Google, sometimes the apps allowed to withdraw small amounts of money or demanded a commission or a minimum balance to be able to withdraw money, which ultimately scammed some even more money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Google accuses developers of violating its terms of service and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.<\/strong> It asks the court to prevent them from committing further fraud and to award it unspecified damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google has sued two alleged cryptocurrency scammers, accusing them of using its Play Store to offer fraudulent apps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9265,"featured_media":277386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[1015],"tags":[5816,6016],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-277384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-criptomonedas","tag-estafa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313961,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277384\/revisions\/313961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277384"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=277384"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=277384"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=277384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}