Google’s Android operating system has been affected by a malicious application that is able to steal money via handsets.

The application acts as a general media player but once it has been installed on a phone, it begins to send premium rate text messages.

These messages are then sent to the application creator, who is then able to collect the fees, at high cost to the user.

The application, discovered by Kaspersky Labs, is understood to be the first one of its kind developed for Android.

It is thought that the phones have become a prime target for criminals following the huge growth in the number of Android applications to come on to the market.

Applications that are able to run up large bills via premium rate numbers are said to be very common on other platforms such as Symbian.

Users are advised to take extreme caution when installing an application and to only install applications that they trust.

It is thought that the amount of malware targeting the application market is set to rise.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Business Mobiles, Mobile Apps Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.