Virus Shield was available for download from the Play Store for $3.99 and the description claimed that it could protect your phone from harmful spyware and malware. It also claimed to improve battery life and promised "no pesky advertisements." A couple of weeks after its launch the app was downloaded more than 10,000 times and featured an average rating of 4.7 stars. Thousands of users found that the app just changed the 'X' indicating not active, to a 'check mark' indicating active protection after download. Android Police dug into its code to confirm that it was “totally and completely devoid of any security benefit.”

The app developer was not listed on the Google Play Store, but the registered email address was matched to an account that had been banned from other forums for trying to scam people.As Android Police says: “this is such a brazen and expensive fake app that we felt the need to give it some special attention. It's somewhat disheartening that an app so obviously fake could rise to the top, especially considering that it's paid, and possibly hundreds or thousands of people have been defrauded already.”