Smartphone malware scams on rise

Smartphone owners have been warned of the danger of rogue apps and told to do more to protect themselves from malware. Get Safe Online, a joint initiative between the government, law enforcement agencies, leading businesses, and the public sector to help computer and phone users avoid cyber crime, said attacks on smartphones increased by 800% in the last four months. Fraudsters are creating malware that can take control of smartphone users’ handsets. This is bundled with apps sold through both official and unofficial app stores. As well as allowing criminals access to personal information, many rogue apps fleece unsuspecting phone owners through premium rate SMS services. The first the bill payer knows about the crime is when they receive their bill, at which point it is too late. Rik Ferguson, director for Get Safe Online, said: “This type of malware is capable of sending a steady stream of text messages to premium rate numbers – in some instances we’ve seen one being sent every minute. With costs of up to £6 per message, this can be extremely lucrative. “The user won’t know this is taking place, even if they happen to be using the device at the same time, as the activity takes place within the device’s ‘back end’ infrastructure. This can often continue for weeks before being noticed.” Get Safe Online is urging smartphone owners to monitor their handsets for any unusual activity, check reviews and ratings as well as developer information before downloading a new app, keep an eye on battery levels – if your battery suddenly starts draining really fast, consider that it might be a malware problem, and regularly check phone bills online to keep tabs on any suspicious activity. Tony Neate, managing director of Get Safe Online, said: “Smartphones are now at as much risk from fraud as their computer and laptop counterparts, and represent big business for online criminals. These devices are essentially mini laptops with a wealth of personal information.” “Eighteen months ago, our primary concern was users not having secured the handset properly, giving fraudsters easy access to our data if it fell into the wrong hands; the majority of malware was relatively ‘trivial’. That has shifted and today there are clear signs of serious criminal intent to defraud users; we are seeing smart phones targeted by sophisticated and lucrative malware scams with increasing frequency and severity.”

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