textually.org: First Ever Malware Spam-Sending App found in App store

July 5, 2012

First Ever Malware Spam-Sending App found in App store

An application available for Apple and Google's mobile operating systems steals the user's contacts list for the purposes of text messaging spam, according a report issued Thursday that claims it is the first malware to appear in Apple's App Store, reports Mercury News.

The app, called "Find and Call," passes itself off as a mobile phone book application, but users who download and use the app will have all of their contacts uploaded to a remote server, according to a post from Kaspersky Lab security blogger Denis Maslennikov.

Once the app uploads the users contacts, it sends text messages to all of the contacts that appears to be from the infected phone's number, with a link to download the app.

Maslennikov traced the app's creation to a website for a company based in Singapore, which seeks even more information about visitors, including PayPal information.