Android scam app developer fined £50,000 for fake Angry Birds and Cut the Rope games

The BBC is reporting that an unnamed Latvian developer who posted fake versions of popular games on the Android Market (subsequently renamed Google Play) has been fined £50,000 and told to repay £28,000 to victims. This fine is the first of its kind in the mobile gaming sphere.

The apps in question were designed to look like legitimate versions of popular titles like Angry Birds, Assassin's Creed, and Cut the Rope.

After downloading these fake titles, customers weren't able to open them up. Instead, they were signed up to a premium SMS line that charged £5 / message received.

The story does not, however, go into details about which court has issued the fine, nor does it mention the operating name of the offending company at the time the apps were originally distributed on the Android Market.

It has been confirmed, though, that the apps in question have been removed by Google.