When downloading a new app from the Google Play Store, the first thing many customers tend to do is look at the app’s rating and user submitted reviews. However, you might want to take into consideration that some app developers might be hiring people on the cheap to cheat these reviews with false 5-star ratings. We’re not saying many are doing it, but one developer has been caught red handed. 

The folks over at AndroidPolice have published a lengthy piece detailing how one developer was caught using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk System. Mechanical Turk allows businesses to assign smaller, less important tasks, to people that are willing to do them on the cheap. So who was the guilty developer? Noosoft Games was caught paying up to $150 for 100 5-star review for their game The rise of the Aliens. While it’s not illegal, it certainly is a little shady on the developer’s part and violates both the Mechanical Turk and Google Play Store policies.

Dishonest moves like this make it difficult for customers to get a real sense of how an application is before they download it and is a real shame. Be sure to make a mental note of both the developer and the game as you’ll want to stay as far away as possible. The listing on Amazon’s website has since been removed, and at the time of this writing, no other jobs for the Play Store have been posted.

If you come up on something suspicious in the Play Store, we suggest you report it to Google. And hey, before downloading an app, check with Cult of Android to get more information and analysis on it.