New malware seizes on COVID-19 to target Android users

A new form of malware that experts are referring to as "TangleBot" is relying on interest in COVID-19 to trick Android users in the U.S and Canada into clicking on a link that will infect their cell phones, according to analysts at the mobile and email security company Cloudmark. 

Cloudmark says the "clever and complicated" malware sends Android users a text message claiming to have the latest COVID-19 guidance in their area or informs them that their third COVID-19 vaccine appointment has been scheduled. When users click on the link provided, they're prompted to update their phone's Adobe Flash player, which instead installs the virus on their phone, according to Cloudmark.

Here's what such a text message might look like, according to Cloudmark: