Fake PayPal, Apple Pay and Netflix apps: how copycat apps lead to costly subscriptions

What's happened

Security firm McAfee has found 970 fake apps on Google Play aimed at people in the UK, copying the names and look of well-known brands including PayPal, Apple Pay and Netflix. Which? highlighted the research in its scam alerts on 20 October 2026. One fake PayPal app had been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

The apps didn't do what they promised. Instead, they pushed people towards a stream of adverts, and some of those adverts led to subscription pages charging as much as $49.99 a month. McAfee says the UK apps were part of a wider campaign of more than 1,900 copycat apps reaching about 500,000 devices in over 190 countries. Google removed the apps after McAfee reported them, according to coverage of the research.

The apps may be gone, but the trick isn't new and copycats tend to come back under new names. If you've installed something similar, a subscription you signed up to through it could still be running.

The warning signs

• An app for something that doesn't exist on your phone. Apple Pay, Siri and iMessage aren't available on Android, so an Android app offering them can't be genuine.
• A "guide", "helper", "tips" or "tutorial" app for a service you already use, rather than the service's own app.
• A developer name that doesn't match the brand. Genuine apps are published by the company itself. On Google Play, the developer's name is shown under the app's name.
• Lots of downloads but odd reviews. A high download count isn't proof an app is real.
• Full-screen adverts that keep popping up, or a "free trial" page that asks for your card details.

What it could cost: a worked example

This is an illustration, not a real case.

Ben searches Google Play for help with his PayPal account and installs a "PayPal guide" app. It shows him adverts, one of which offers a free trial of a "premium" service. He enters his debit card details and forgets about it. The trial turns into a $49.99 monthly subscription.

By the time he spots the payments on his statement three months later, he's paid $149.97, plus any fee his bank charges for payments in a foreign currency. Over a year it would be $599.88. Deleting the app wouldn't have stopped it: Google says uninstalling an app doesn't cancel a subscription, and a subscription taken out on a website outside Google Play won't show in your Play account at all.

Ben can tell his bank to stop any future payments to that company. Citizens Advice says you can do this up to the end of the business day before a payment is due, and the bank can't insist you contact the company first. He can also ask his bank for a chargeback on the payments he's already made. Chargeback isn't a legal right, but the Financial Ombudsman says the time limit is usually around 120 days.

How to check before you download

1. Go to the company's own website first. Banks and payment firms link to their official app. Use that link rather than searching the app store.
2. Check the developer name and contact details on the app's page.
3. Read the most recent reviews, not just the star rating.
4. Be wary of any app that asks for card details for a free trial.

What to do if you've been caught

1. Check your Google Play subscriptions and cancel anything you don't recognise. Then check your bank and card statements for payments to companies you don't know.
2. Call your bank or card provider on the number on the back of your card, or call 159. Ask it to block future payments and raise a chargeback.
3. Report unauthorised Google Play charges to Google within 120 days of the transaction.
4. Report the app through its Google Play listing, and report fraud to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
5. Forward scam messages. Send suspicious texts to 7726 and suspicious emails to [email protected].

Your questions answered

Will I get my money back under the bank reimbursement rules?

Probably not under those rules. The Payment Systems Regulator's reimbursement scheme covers people tricked into sending a bank transfer. Card payments are covered by chargeback and, for purchases over £100 on a credit card, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Does deleting the app cancel the subscription?

No. Cancel the subscription in Google Play, or with the company that's charging you, and tell your bank to stop future payments.

Are iPhone users safe?

McAfee's research covered Google Play, but copycat apps can appear on any app store. The same checks apply.

Sources: Which? scam alerts, McAfee Labs: Android/RewaFake, Tech Digest, Google Play: cancel a subscription, Google Play: refunds and unauthorised charges, Citizens Advice: stopping a future card payment, Financial Ombudsman: section 75 and chargeback, Payment Systems Regulator