Symantec researchers are working with Twitter on helping impacted users

Aug 9, 2013 08:51 GMT  ·  By

In case you see Twitter messages from your friends written in Russian, be sure not to click on the links contained in them, since they're likely part of a cybercriminal scheme designed to spread mobile malware. If you’re a Russian speaker, be careful when using Twitter from your Android phone.

Symantec warns that at the beginning of July, cybercriminals started compromising accounts and creating their own to send out malicious tweets. The messages usually appear to point to Android applications.

The sites the links lead to are designed to automatically download malicious apps. However, the victim needs to install the app manually.

One of these applications, a bogus version of Asphalt 7, has been found to hide a Trojan that silently sends out SMSs to premium rate numbers, inflating the victim’s mobile phone bill.

Symantec says that it’s currently working with Twitter on helping users whose accounts have been compromised. Users can find out if their accounts have been hijacked by checking out the tweets they’ve posted.

If you find tweets you haven’t sent out, change your password immediately.