Cashing in on the popularity surrounding popular photo-sharing application Instagram, a number of fake versions of the app are doing the rounds online.

Cyber criminals have created fake versions of the Instagram Android app, designed to earn money from unsuspecting users.
When users download the Instagram app from anywhere other than the official Google Play store, or directly from the Instagram Web site, they are running the risk of infecting their smartphones with malware.

One example is a Russian Web site that mimics the look of the Instagram site, and offers users a free download.
The resulting download is a malicious app that seems to be relying on the sending of background SMS messages to earn its creators revenue.

Recently, users looking to download Angry Birds Space were also being targeted. Other popular smartphone apps being used in the scheme are Fruit Ninja, Temple Run and Talking Tom Cat.