Recently, Apple apps have been popping up on the Google Play Store. But unfortunately for Android users, these apps weren’t actually made by Apple – they’re scam apps designed to trick users into paying for apps that don’t actually work.

Apple Inc was credited as the author of the apps, which means they looked fairly legitimate to Android users browsing through the Play Store. Although it’s unknown how many users fell for the scam, the apps have since been taken down.

Those apps included:

-iMovie

-iPhoto

-Garage Band

All of these apps were reportedly available for $4.99, which is half of what they cost on iOS.

But that doesn’t mean that Android users are safe just yet. As long as Android continues to be the most popular mobile operating system in the world, its users will continue to be targeted by hackers and scammers.

Google will take some heat for this security ‘breach’. While Apple has strict security and quality guidelines about which apps will appear in their iTunes store, Google doesn’t have the same requirements with Google Play. Although this allows a lot of alternative developers to market their harmless apps, it also allows the occasional malicious app to slip through.

In other words, Apple would be wise to capitalize on this marketing opportunity by advertising their ‘quality over quantity’ approach in the iTunes store. Since some reports state that approximately 1/3 of all Play Store apps contain malware, this could give Apple a big boost.

In any case, if you’re browsing the Google Play Store and see various Apple Inc apps, don’t download them. When Apple does choose to release its apps onto the Google Play Store, it will be a major news story, and you can be certain that the One Click Root blog would keep you up-to-date.