Warning out vs fake Google apps in Windows Phone store 

If you own a phone running Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, think twice before downloading a Google app from the Windows Phone store – it might be malware in disguise.

Security vendor Bitdefender said the fake Google Apps include Hangouts, Google Maps, Google+, Google Search and Google Voice, "selling" for $1.99.

"The site says the applications are fake. In the Android and iOS mobile markets, these services are free of charge. Moreover, the developer’s name is misspelled: the valid applications are signed Google Inc, while the new versions are published by Google, Inc.," researcher Alexandra Gheorghe said, citing information from WinBeta.

She added the fake apps can also pose serious security and privacy risks by secretly tracking the user’s location, leaking email addresses or phone logs to third-parties.

Worse, she said developers can manipulate the apps to go rogue, intercepting text messages or executing man-in-the-middle attacks.

For now, she said the apps have been taken down from the Windows Phone Store. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News