What’s happening?
We are seeing a significant rise in Flubot victims on the O2 network again. This current bout of malware was first identified by Vodafone on Wednesday 27th April 2022 and each day seeing increased incidents over our customer base.
Flubot is a text message or MMS scam – part of a large-scale smishing attack using malware named Flubot. It’s currently only impacting Android devices and is downloaded under the guise of a tracking app or a message with a link to retrieve a voicemail which is installed when the user clicks on the attached link.
Due to most TelCos utilising Spam Shield, it would appear cyber attackers have started to use both MMS and SMS. Whilst most UK SMS will be free, MMS will attract a charge per message – this helps them to bypass the various controls in place to address Spamming and Smishing.
If a customer installs the app the malware is able to take over their device and this allows more infected SMS/MMS to be sent to contacts within the device without their knowledge. The customer’s contacts and banking apps may be accessed by the fraudster.
What does this mean for customers?
If a customer has been identified as downloading malware into their device, the network will inform Zest4 via email and will have removed the MMS service from the MPN at ABS level.
You should look at the National Cyber Security Centre website and follow the advice on how to remove malware from your device. At the current time, this action includes performing a factory reset which will wipe all their data, Photos, Contacts etc. Preventative measures are not possible at the moment as there is no way to limit MMS messages from being sent.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our IT Team on 02890 271 777.
