HOUSTON -- Most people who work on computers have heard about how viruses can damage or destroy equipment and files. But some viruses can infect cell phones, Houston television station KPRC reported.

Teenagers are the most vulnerable because of the way they use the phones.

"My friend has a joke thing. Every day, she gets a different joke," said Niki Lamontagne, a cell phone user.

"Instead of jokes, I got, like, those things that, like, tell your birthday and (horoscopes)," said Presley Underwood, a seventh-grader.

If teenagers are not downloading horoscopes or jokes, it could be a song, picture or the hottest new games.

That's how most phone viruses are spread.

"It'll say download, and I click that and it'll come to me in, like, five minutes. Nothing really happens. I mean, I can play the games, but I didn't know you could get viruses," said Darius Assin, a junior in high school.

Most people did not know that cell phones are vulnerable to viruses.

The station was in Washington, D.C., recently when phone and wireless companies told government security leaders that a wave of viruses spreading across Asia and Europe is on its way to cell phones in the U.S.

Now, an anti-virus firm is tracking eight different malicious cell phone bugs. Some spread through the list of phone numbers people keep in their phones.

Houston computer security firms are bracing for the attack.

Daniel Areemit with Timeer Networking said a cell phone user's friends will think they are receiving a message.

"Oh, this is a very cool picture. They click and download it. Then, you infect it," Areemit said.

Some viruses can drain a cell phone user's minutes, make long distance calls at the user's expense or steal pictures and e-mail.

But one virus, called the Commwarrior, is spreading through text messages, which is a way of life for many teenagers.

"My bill for text messages was $51," teenager Underwood said.

"(My bill was) $1,000," teenager Danielle Surguy said.

Experts said smart phones or newer phones that use Bluetooth technology are the most vulnerable. They suggest turning off Bluetooth, which allows devices to communicate wirelessly when not in use.

"It's not a joke anymore. Four years ago, they treat it like a joke, but now it's not. It's really out there," Areemit said.

Experts say users should treat downloads and messages like they would on their home computers -- don't click on it or answer it if unsure, even if it looks like it was sent by a friend.