A fake Phasmophobia mobile game has appeared on the Google Play Store, successfully tricking users into downloading it more than 50,000 times and giving it 5-star reviews.
The fake mobile game pops up among the first results in searches and uses the same screenshots found on Phasmophobia’s Steam page. It also copies and pastes much of the Steam description, clumsily replacing some words.
Although it promises the same features as the PC game, including cross-platform support with PC, and is free to download, the fake Phasmophobia mobile game doesn’t allow you to play right away.
After downloading, you’re met with a menu that lets you choose between rating it 5 stars on the Google Play Store, sharing it with 3 friends, or paying to become a “premium member” in order to have access to playing the game.
Promising free access after you’ve rated it 5 stars is very likely how the fake Phasmophobia mobile game got so many shining reviews. Especially given the PC game’s surge in popularity, people were eager to play it on the go.
Sadly, as some of the 1-star reviews that followed point out, neither giving it a 5-star rating nor sharing it with friends lets you access the game.
Even after doing both, you still have to pay for one of the three premium options which ask for up to $12. Those who’ve unfortunately paid were quick to find out that it’s all a scam.
They did not get to play the supposed Phasmophobia mobile version and were asked to pay again, despite already being charged once.
The fake Phasmophobia mobile game is listed as developed by Online Game Mmmorpg. As you can probably tell, the same entity has two other games that seem to pull the same punches.
One is another shot at Phasmophobia – just under a slightly altered name – while the other pretends to be Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The same practice is echoed in their respective 1-star reviews.
When we tried rating the fake Phasmophobia mobile game, we got redirected to yet another copycat, this one pretending to be a mobile version of Euro Truck Simulator 2.
The same modus operandi applies there – screenshots and description taken from Steam, free installation. This one even fails to remove mentions of developer SCS Software from the description, despite being attributed to a different developer.
Phasmophobia developer Kinetic Games hasn’t announced anything regarding a mobile version, focusing on the PC version that is currently going through Steam Early Access.
Scams like these take advantage of a game’s popularity in hopes of making a quick buck. It’s best to always be cautious and double check official sources for the exsitence of mobile versions of popular PC and console games.
Otherwise, you could end up paying for something that could very well have no connection to what’s being advertised.
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