Sexism from a security problem? It’s happening, with Symantec picking up on a new trojan appearing on Android handsets overseas.
The new malware is an interesting one, targeting women in Japan with emails sending either a bogus link suggesting a way to make quick money or charging for a dating service where women can supposedly meet rich men.
Both of these are obviously scams, with the links downloading the Android.Loozfon malware to devices and stealing contact details, including phone numbers and email addresses.
Once stolen, the information is sent on to more devices, with the hope of stealing even more contact information. While we haven’t yet confirmed what the details are used for, there’s a chance that this information could be sold or used against a user later down the track.
Right now, this risk seems fairly limited at the moment, with Symantec informing GadgetGuy that there have been no reports of the infection outside Japan as of yet.
Because this is out there in the open, it’s probably worth pointing out that your mobile phone is just as in need of protection as your desktop computer, so if you’re at all concerned or are installing apps outside of the Google’s app store, consider grabbing one of the security apps available, many of which are free.
