SMSFactory is a virus which, once installed on the smartphone of its victims, sends premium SMS.
Once the malware is installed on the smartphone by the victim himself, then it becomes impossible to spot. The Internet user will not notice its existence until they receive a painful bill.
SMSFactory is one of those viruses that sends premium SMS. If not detected, “this system can increase the telephone bill up to 7 dollars (6.54€) per week or 336 dollars (313.81€) per year, leaving a bad surprise for the victims”, says Avast. The specialist adds, “one version we found is also capable of extracting victims’ contact lists, allowing the malware to spread further”. Impossible to get rid of it without a deep cleaning of the OS.
SMSFactory does not seem to spare any country. It has been spotted in South America, Europe and Asia. It will have already infected the smartphones of tens of thousands of Internet users.
To infect new machines, it uses a network of disreputable sites – illegal streaming sites, porn sites and online gambling. On these sites, the Internet user is invited to download a file in a completely opportunistic way. As the app in question comes from a third-party source, the website urges the user to ignore the Play Protect warning built into Android. Once the application is downloaded and successfully installed, it greets the user with a welcome screen. If the victim clicks on “Accept”, they will activate the process.
Only owners of Android smartphones are affected. The application cannot be installed on an iPhone. If you have deactivated the sending of surcharged SMS, you will also not be put in danger.
It is currently unknown how many people were affected in Belgium. However, you should be careful and never install software that does not come from official application stores.
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