Beware of Phishing Apps on Your Phone (and Elsewhere, I Suppose)

Rick and I frequently roll our eyes at enterprising anti-malware vendors trying to "protect" your mobile device from viruses and other malicious code. It seemed ever so gratitutious, what with the total lack of documented malware on mobile devices.

Well, the carefree days of malware-free phones might be over, and it's time to be a bit more cautious.

Recently, some malicious apps were found in the Android Market. Specifically, these apps were masquerading as banking apps, but all they did was capture your personal information -- including usernames and passwords -- and phone home with your precious bounty.

The apps were all uploaded by a single user (Droid09) and have since been removed from the store, but in the Android's more "open" environment, it's not inconceivable that more criminal examples will emerge in the future.

On the plus side, the iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Palm Pre all appear to be clean, thanks largely to better controls over what content gets published. But it definitely pays to be vigilant.