Originally published April 25 2005
Phishing may target smartphone users soon
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Like computers, smartphones are at risk with spam and viruses. With the advance technology that we have today where financial transactions can be done through the computer or mobile phone, a person is at risk with phishing. Phishing is like any ordinary email that asks you personal data such as credit card and bank account numbers. Thus, people should be very careful when opening SMS and MMS messages from unknown senders so as to avoid financial losses.
It appears as though she may have company in the not-too-distant future, Internet security experts say.
The proliferation of "smart" phones, which are cell phones with the brains of a personal computer, means users increasingly will confront the same risks as desktop and laptop Web surfers and e-mailers -- including spam, worms, viruses and phishing.
Phishing, an e-mail ploy to trick computer users into revealing personal data such as credit-card numbers and passwords, has grown dramatically in the past year to become the scourge of the wired world.
The cost of phishing scams to consumers and corporations -- estimated by one expert at several billion dollars -- is hard to determine precisely because financial institutions are reluctant to provide such sensitive data, but phishing is on the increase and becoming more sophisticated.
"The low-hanging fruit has been swept up," Huger said, "but people are having success at it.
"Everything we have seen in the last 10 or 15 years tells us hackers will go after cell phones, either for financial gain via phishing, or for kicks and fame like traditional writers of viruses," said Stephen Cobb, a St. Augustine information-security expert and author.
Along with the threat of phishing, cell-phone users likely will have to deal with worms and viruses, which could steal private information, delete files or worse, experts said.
"One nasty cell-phone virus could bring down an entire cellular network.
Of the estimated 1.6 billion cell phones in use globally, fewer than 50 million fall into the class known as smart phones, which can wirelessly access the Internet and exchange data with desktop and laptop computers.
But their numbers are expected to grow sharply in the next three years, said Alex Slawsby, senior analyst for mobile devices at International Data Corp.
Unlike the PC world, where Microsoft Windows is dominant, the mobile sector is home to several distinct operating systems.
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