There is a really simple technique to avoid most of the malware out there: verify that the permissions are reasonable. If a game asks for permission to the "phone state and identity" or "full internet access", it should raise some red flags in your head because it shouldn't need that type of access.

And for what it's worth: Android is Linux. Except that Android is probably more secure because it gives more fine-grained control over permissions. Yet none of that control works if people don't use it.