Not so snap happy

Not so snap happy: Android Instagram users hit by virus-infected fake app which secretly runs up enormous bills

If you've downloaded the hit app Instagram for Android, you could be in for a huge mobile phone bill.

A 'clone' site offers an infected version of the Android app which sends SMS messages to premium services, running up enormous bills.

The app has millions of users around the world, and was recently acquired by Facebook for $1 billion.

Rather surreally, the app is also filled with pictures of a Russian 'mystery man' - apparently a cult joke on Russian websites, from a photo showing a casually dressed man at a Russian wedding.


Android users are at risk if they downloaded the app from sites other than the official Google Play market.


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The malicious software was picked up by anti-virus company Sophos.

'Cybercriminals have created fake versions of the Instagram Android app, designed to earn money from unsuspecting users,' says Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

'Cybercriminals have played on the popularity of the Instagram app - which
If Android owners download the app from unapproved sources, rather than official sites such as the official Google Play Android marketplace, they run the risk of infecting their smartphone.'

'Once installed, the app will send background SMS messages to premium rate services earning its creators revenue. Sophos products detect the malware, which has been distributed on a Russian website purporting to be an official Instagram site, as Andr/Boxer-F.'

‘Android malware is becoming a bigger and bigger problem,’ said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

‘Just last week, we saw a bogus edition of the Angry Birds Space game and it’s quite likely that whoever is behind this latest malware are also using the names and images of other popular smartphone apps as bait.'

Unlike phones running Apple's iOS, Android handsets can install and run apps from any source.

This leaves them vulnerable to malicious software - and even Google's Play store often has 'fake' apps which infect phones with malicious apps.