SMS Trojan found on Android phones

The Android Trojan sends text messages to premium rate numbers

Android users are at risk from the first SMS malware targeted at the operating system, according to security firm Kaspersky Lab.

Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a arrives disguised as a 13Kb media file application which, once downloaded, notifies the user that it requires access to the SMS system of the phone.

However, once installed, the phone begins sending text messages to a premium rate phone number.

"Devices running Android are experiencing the highest growth in sales among smartphone manufacturers. As a result, we can expect to see a corresponding rise in the amount of malware targeting that platform," said Denis Maslennikov, mobile research group manager at Kaspersky Lab.

The company said that it will launch an anti-malware product for Android early next year.

Malware targeted at Android handsets has been around for more than a year, and some handsets have been shipped with malware preloaded.

However, this is the first widely available Trojan seen in the wild. It primarily affects Russian users, but may be opened up to other territories if the malware model is successful.