Beware of Hi-Tech Mobile Phone Criminals!
August 18, 2008
A mobile phone obviously has come as a shot in the arm for the human race as a whole. It has straddled over almost every aspect of human life. One cannot distinguish a particular field where it has influenced increasingly for, from a child’s calling its parents for help to a young couples’ exchange of passion to business people’s video conferencing, it has emerged a factor everywhere. Along with the myriad advantages also come the undesirable demerits. You know well of the traditional ways of mobile phone abuses like mobile eve teasing, sim card cloning, spam SMSes, etc. Until recently, the range of abuse was a bit limited. However, today it has grown to great proportions with the advent of business mobile phones, smart phones and multimedia mobile phones.
Yesterday, you had the GSM or CDMA modems for accessing Mobile Networks and those devices supported by these technologies were usually employed for making as well as receiving calls and at the most SMSes. Today, the scenario has changed considerably. High-speed communication data transfers are possible with the advent of smarter technologies like GPRS, EDGE, UMTS (3G), HSDPA, etc. those have triggered a boom in the business field usage of mobile phones as well. A satisfactory smartphone or business mobile phone entitles you to receive as well as send messages through emails receive notifications on important faxes and calls and conduct conference calls as well as video calls apart from the universal aspect of keeping in constant touch with your office. Moreover, nowadays you, not only gain access to your bank statements and credit cards through your mobile phone but also engage in instant messaging, VoIP and Skype calls via a common interface.
All these factors have attracted an increased number of cyber miscreants to this field in the recent times. The ultra-fast and magnanimous data transfer technology shrouding the mobile phone world has proved the perfect catalyst for their malicious rites. The mischief-mongers predominantly aim at the illegal acquirement of revenue, as other malicious intentions also cannot be counted out. A number of authorised agencies employ these dubious means as well, but with a view to reveal crimes and criminals as well as to ensure national security.
SMS Spoofing is one significant threat that the day’s mobile phone users face collectively. This is marked by the numerous anonymous short messages you receive in your mobile phone consisting of a range of subjects from advertisements to porn materials. By applying this method, a technically qualified pervert can always send you an SMS in the disguise of another person’s number. The gravest part here is the fact that a wrongdoer can gain access to your mobile phone’s bank balance enquiry sector or DTH account recharge sector through simple SMSes and pretending as you can obtain those details. With VoIP calling being increasingly popular amidst mobile phone users and enhanced supports rendered to this sector by modern devices like FXO cards you can virtuously make any sorts of calls using your mobile phone. In these circumstances an increased chance for call spoofing occurs.
Call Spoofing is much like SMS spoofing and arouses the reminiscence of forged mails. However, it is not so easy to perform as an SMS spoof. Voice or Text Spamming are more of nuisance types than being any sort of security breaks but, you cannot sign off the possibilities of their evolving into major threats in the future. Spam Mails, even today are dubious matter that might contain viruses or spy ware.
Spyware are undoubtedly, Damocles’ swords suspending over the mobile users’ crowns. Spy wares are ingenious creations that are used by both security agencies and hackers. The high susceptibility of mobile phones to spy wares is explained by the powerful constitution of the spy wares that is usually based on J2ME. Your mobile phone may hit with a spy ware, while you download unauthorised software such as games, videos, etc or if you click on those strange links that appear in received messages. You can also earn it for your mobile phone in the form of MMS attachments and even as your good old SMS.
If your mobile phone is laden with a powerful spy ware, the manipulator can on or off the power of your device by means of simple SMSes. Your mobile phone can also be forced to download information on a web interface. The cyber-criminal can also check your call logs, monitor your SMS, view your mobile phone’s stored data and record audio or video via a smart SMS command. Moreover, if you have, a GPS enabled mobile phone; your tracker can easily locate your position using the GPS signals transmitted by your device.
SIM Cloning is a comparatively easy task to accomplish. Even a novice can perform this task with a small amount of effort. There are a lot of myths shrouding this process like; one can hear the conversation made over the target SIM or one can retrieve data from the original. Until this day, there are no substantiations for these statements, although a certainty is that the counterfeited SIM card can be used to make calls or send SMSes, whose bills, you the owner of the original SIM will be liable to pay.
Protective Measures
You can try a few protective measures to counter these menaces, though these steps cannot be regarded as legal advice.
- Replace your SIM Cards at regular intervals; say every three years. Today, most service providers render this service free of cost.
- Always observe your phone bill carefully and try not to save any PINs or passwords in your mobile phone if you lack an encrypted password wallet in it.
- Immunise your mobile phone with the latest anti-virus and anti-spy ware applications and see that your mobile phone is never connected to a PC with no adequate protections.
- See that you never accept an SMS with an attachment unless it is from a credible source. Meanwhile you can protect your device from this hazard by armouring it with some encryption applications like Fortress SMS or SMS protector.
- Unless knowing that they come from a trusted source, never click on SMS or MMS links.
- Since no credible financial institutions would probe about financial details over the phone, do not disclose any such details like bank or credit card details to anyone over the phone.
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