Mobile/Cellular Phone "Virus" Hoax

The Mobile/Cellular Phone "Virus" Email Warning Is A Hoax

by Bruce P. Burrell (bpb@umich.edu)
for the U-M Virus Busters (virus.busters@umich.edu)

Last significant update: 06 June, 1999

This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as the information is unmodified.

Thanks to Tony Tan for first bringing this to our attention on 17 May, 1999.

On Mon, 17 May 1999, we recieved the following hoax:


NOW THERE IS A VIRUS ON MOBILE PHONE SYSTEM.

Interesting claim there:

Cell phones aren't computers

They don't have executable file storage

Even if they had a programmable ROM chip, this is no threat unless it were FLASHable

Since there is no I/O system, one would probably have to pull the chip to do this anyway


All mobile phone in DIGITAL system can be infected by this virus.
If you receive a phone call and your phone display "UNAVAILABLE"
on the screen (for most of digital mobile phones with a function to
display in-coming call telephone number), DON'T ANSWER THE
CALL!!!  END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY!!!

BECAUSE IF YOU ANSWER THE CALL, YOUR PHONE WILL BE INFECTED BY THIS VIRUS.

It's a lot more likely to be infected by a virus if you sneeze on it.


This virus will erase all IMIE and IMSI information from
both your phone and your SIM card which will make your phone unable to
connect with the telephone network!!!  You will have to buy
a new phone.

Technobabble to confuse the naive but well-meaning.


This information has been confirmed by both Motorola and Nokia!!!
For more information, please visit Motorola or Nokia web sites:
http://www.mot.com or http://www.nokia.com.

Nice try. Check Motorola (leaving our site) and Nokia (leaving our site) yourself, where you'll find nothing, unless they put up a debunkiing of this haox eventually.


There are over 3 million mobile phone being infected by this virus in
USA now.  You can also check this news in CNN web site: 
http://www.cnn.com.

... where again you'll find nothing; see CNN's home page (leaving our site). Hmmm. Could it be a conspiracy??

Nope, just a silly hoax. For corroboration, see e.g., DataFellows debunking of this hoax (leaving our site).


Hope new virus won't attack our TV in future.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to point out that there are no TV (or WebTV) viruses, or printer viruses, or toaster oven viruses, or....

I say, boldly:

There is no such thing as a Mobile Phone Virus and Never Will Be

There are too many wankers out there writing hoaxes; this angers me

There are too many folks out there believing them; this only makes me sad.

P.T. Barnum was right, but the frequency was wrong: "There's a sucker born every millisecond" nowadays.

Please do not forward this -- or any other hoax -- to all your friends.

Instead, you should reply to the sender -- and as far back up the email chain as you have energy -- informing the originators that this is a hoax. For this particular hoax, I suggest that you provide a pointer to this URL (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/hoaxes/cellphone.html)
For virus or hoax info, please see our main page (http://www.umich.edu/~virus-busters/) or go to another reputable site, like DataFellows (leaving our site).

-BPB

Last updated: Wednesday, 02-Jan-2002 18:34:38 EST.
University of Michigan Virus Busters - virus.busters@umich.edu

visits to this page since 06 June, 1999 15:54 EDT