By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 07:23 EST, 19 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:24 EST, 19 April 2012 . 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. The application sends secret SMS messages to premium numbers, leaving users with enormous bills . A fake site offering Instagram has infected Android users with an app that sends SMS messages to premium numbers, running up enormous bills . The app is filled with images of this 'mystery man' - a joke from Russian internet forums . 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. 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.' The app is also filled with images of a man (far right) whose image is often traded on Russian internet forums . Less fun than it seems: The app looks identical to the real game - and even works - but infects phones with malicious software . '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.
App filled with pictures of Russian 'mystery man'
Secretly sends SMS messages to premium numbers .
Looks identical to normal version, but found on 'clone' site rather than the official Android market .
By . Rob Waugh . PUBLISHED: . 07:23 EST, 19 April 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:24 EST, 19 April 2012 . 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. The application sends secret SMS messages to premium numbers, leaving users with enormous bills . A fake site offering Instagram has infected Android users with an app that sends SMS messages to premium numbers, running up enormous bills . The app is filled with images of this 'mystery man' - a joke from Russian internet forums . 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. 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.' The app is also filled with images of a man (far right) whose image is often traded on Russian internet forums . Less fun than it seems: The app looks identical to the real game - and even works - but infects phones with malicious software . '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.
bill. A 'clone' site offers an infected version of the Android app which sends SMS messages to messages to premium numbers, running up enormous with pictures of a Russian 'mystery man' - sources, rather than official sites such as the