An Android botnet is sending out pharmacy, penny stock and e-card spam emails to users, according to security researchers from Microsoft and antivirus firm Sophos.
The spam messages are coming from Yahoo's email servers and are sent from Android phones, says Terry Zink, the program manager for Microsoft Forefront Online Security.
"We've all heard the rumors, but this is the first time I have seen it -- a spammer has control of a botnet that lives on Android devices," Zink said. "These devices login to the user's Yahoo Mail account and send spam."
Sophos security researches have also looked closely at the spam mail and have agreed with Microsoft. "The messages appear to originate from compromised Google Android smartphones or tablets," Sophos senior security advisor Chester Wisniewski said in a blog post on Thursday.
Although there is no clear evidence as to which Android malware is causing the spamming, the companies say that there is indirect evidence that shows the mail is being sent from Android phones.
Zink wrote that the email headers all mention "android Mobile" and the messages end with "sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android."
Currently known infected devices are located in Ukraine, Russia, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Lebanon, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Those with the virus may be hit with higher phone bills, as sending many spam messages creates a lot of data usage on mobile devices.
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