Mobile Trojans steal user's money through WAP-billing services

Kaspersky Lab recommends users to install reliable security solution on their devices, such as Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus- web security and app lock, which aims to protect users' privacy and personal information from Android mobile threats.

Kaspersky Lab researchers have discovered an unusual rise in mobile Trojan clickers that are stealing money from Android users through Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) billing (a type of direct mobile payment taken without any additional registration).

Kaspersky Lab detected several popular Trojan families among the "TOP 20 mobile malware programs" using the WAP-billing service. To become active through mobile Internet, all Trojan versions are able to turn off Wi-Fi and turn on mobile data.

According to KSN statistics, this Trojan infected almost 8 000 infected users from 82 countries, in July 2017.

Based on Kaspersky Lab research it was the third most common Trojan in June 2017, among those exploiting WAP-billings, and is still active mainly in Russia.

"We haven't seen these types of Trojans for a while. The fact that they have become so popular lately might indicate that cybercriminals have started to use other verified techniques, such as WAP-billing, to exploit users," said, security expert at Kaspersky Lab, Roman Unuchek.

"Moreover, a premium rate SMS Trojan is more difficult to create. It is also interesting that malware has targeted mainly Russia and India, which could be connected to the state of their internal, local telecoms markets. However, we have also detected the Trojans in South Africa and Egypt", says Roman Unuchek, security expert at Kaspersky Lab," he added.

WAP billing has been widely used by mobile network operators for paid services and subscriptions for many years. This form of mobile payment charges cost directly to the user's mobile phone bill without the need for bank card registration or a sign-up process.