A new virus for mobile phones extorts money from the accounts of their owners
The new virus, created specifically for smartphones, is safe for the system files of the device, but it affects the welfare of its owner. The malicious program starts sending short text messages to a paid number without the knowledge of the host. As a result, the use of a clever phone runs the risk of flying into a pretty penny - sending one text message with this program costs 177 rubles.
This week, Kaspersky Lab experts discovered another virus written specifically for mobile phones running the SymbianOS operating system. The malicious program is registered in the system files of the smartphone and starts sending SMS messages to a short phone number.
The program does not harm the device itself, but it significantly devastates the owner’s wallet. The fact is that the bug sends SMS to the paid number 1055, the cost of each message is 177 rubles.
Owners of smartphones who like to install various utilities on their machines are in the area of ​​particular risk, since the "infection" is distributed under the guise of one of the utilities. A type of virus detected by specialists was sent by hackers through the popular site dimonvideo.ru.
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This virus, in all likelihood, brought good income to its author, since the money written off for sending text messages from the victim's number was automatically transferred to the hacker's account.
It is known that short numbers are leased by mobile operators. For a private individual, renting such a number is quite expensive, so many content providers rent subleased numbers. A message sent from the infected phone to the number 1055 contains a sign of the subtenant.
After receiving an SMS with this feature, the content provider lists part of the cost of the message to the person who rented the number. According to Kaspersky Lab, about 200 people managed to download the dimonvideo.ru website before the malware was removed.
Specialists of the Laboratory, who managed to track down this virus, say that this is not the first program that extracts money from smartphone owners.
“Similar programs began to be massively distributed since February last year. Then many people received a message on their phone proposing to connect via the phone to the free Internet. For this, it seems like it was necessary to send one text message to the specified number. Naturally, no one received free access to the Network, and SMS to that number continued to systematically go away until the balance was cleared, ”Kaspersky Lab virus analyst Alexander Gostev told the VZGLYAD newspaper correspondent.
The only salvation from such infections, experts say, may be increased vigilance and the ability not to succumb to this kind of scam. “It is possible that soon there will be products that adequately ensure the safety of your equipment. So far this has not happened, you need to be extremely careful - use the services of verified content providers, ”summarize the experts.
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This week, Kaspersky Lab experts discovered another virus written specifically for mobile phones running the SymbianOS operating system. The malicious program is registered in the system files of the smartphone and starts sending SMS messages to a short phone number.
The program does not harm the device itself, but it significantly devastates the owner’s wallet. The fact is that the bug sends SMS to the paid number 1055, the cost of each message is 177 rubles.
Owners of smartphones who like to install various utilities on their machines are in the area of ​​particular risk, since the "infection" is distributed under the guise of one of the utilities. A type of virus detected by specialists was sent by hackers through the popular site dimonvideo.ru.
')
This virus, in all likelihood, brought good income to its author, since the money written off for sending text messages from the victim's number was automatically transferred to the hacker's account.
It is known that short numbers are leased by mobile operators. For a private individual, renting such a number is quite expensive, so many content providers rent subleased numbers. A message sent from the infected phone to the number 1055 contains a sign of the subtenant.
After receiving an SMS with this feature, the content provider lists part of the cost of the message to the person who rented the number. According to Kaspersky Lab, about 200 people managed to download the dimonvideo.ru website before the malware was removed.
Specialists of the Laboratory, who managed to track down this virus, say that this is not the first program that extracts money from smartphone owners.
“Similar programs began to be massively distributed since February last year. Then many people received a message on their phone proposing to connect via the phone to the free Internet. For this, it seems like it was necessary to send one text message to the specified number. Naturally, no one received free access to the Network, and SMS to that number continued to systematically go away until the balance was cleared, ”Kaspersky Lab virus analyst Alexander Gostev told the VZGLYAD newspaper correspondent.
The only salvation from such infections, experts say, may be increased vigilance and the ability not to succumb to this kind of scam. “It is possible that soon there will be products that adequately ensure the safety of your equipment. So far this has not happened, you need to be extremely careful - use the services of verified content providers, ”summarize the experts.
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/8594/
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