Are there risks to using a service like Mbuzzy?

The Mbuzzy app is a free download for iOS and Android. Once it's installed, users can log in and buy coinz through Google Checkout or a service called Zong, owned by eBay, which bills to your mobile phone number. The app offers most of the functionality of the Web site: Users can send instant messages, view messages and alerts about their accounts, browse profiles, and view the secret stashes of other users (for a coinz fee, of course).

Mbuzzy's app doesn't allow users to connect to chat rooms, and the number of positive reviews on the Google Play Android store are suspicious. Most of the five-star reviews are extremely short comments like "love it" and "it works well" or include no comment at all. By contrast, the negative reviews cite real problems, like the app crashing or freezing on certain Android phones.

Because smartphones are very personal objects, there is a risk that parents will not be able to properly oversee their teenagers' activity on Mbuzzy. The most obvious risk of using Mbuzzy is simply wasting money on an unfulfilling service. Paying coinz to see who visits your profile for a month, for example, is one obvious way to spend money with little return for the investment.