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Android malware spreads via mail tracking SMS spam

Attackers are spreading Android malware to users under the guise of phony mail tracking notifications made to look like DHL Express correspondence, analysts warn.

On Thursday, Carlos Castillo, a mobile malware researcher at McAfee, revealed in a blog post that the brand name of logistics company DHL in Germany had been used to trick victims in the country into installing the malware detected as “Android/SmsHnd.A.”

The threat is delivered via SMS spam designed to look like a DHL tracking notification. In reality, a link in the SMS (shortened through Google's URL service goo.gl) allows attackers to install the malware, the blog post said.

“SmsHnd” leaks sensitive data, such as a victim's phone number, device model, IMEI and IMSI identifiers. The Android malware can also spam text victims' contacts, Castillo said, all while attackers intercept and forward incoming text messages to a remote server in Japan.

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