Wave of fake iPhone retail apps floods App Store ahead of X'mas

San Francisco

HUNDREDS of fake retail and product apps have popped up in Apple's App Store in recent weeks - just in time to deceive holiday shoppers.

Counterfeiters have masqueraded as retail chains like Dollar Tree and Foot Locker, big department stores like Dillard's and Nordstrom, online product bazaars like Zappos.com and Polyvore, and luxury-goods makers like Jimmy Choo, Christian Dior and Salvatore Ferragamo.

"We're seeing a barrage of fake apps," said Chris Mason, chief executive of Branding Brand, a Pittsburgh company that helps retailers build and maintain apps. He said this was the first time his company had seen so many counterfeit iPhone apps emerge in a short period of time. Some of them appeared to be relatively harmless - essentially junk apps that served up annoying pop-up ads, he said. But there are serious risks to using a fake app. Entering credit card information opens a customer to potential financial fraud. Some fake apps contain malware that can steal personal information or even lock the phone until the user pays a ransom. And some fakes encourage users to log in usi…