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Doi not make these dangerous connections.<\/p>\n
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Republished on June 27 with new advice and defenses for smartphone users.<\/p>\n
A timely caution for smartphone users this week, with the police warning criminals can push malicious SMS texts<\/a> directly onto their phones, bypassing mobile networks. This is why Google warns all smartphone users to change their networks settings.<\/p>\n The threat comes from so-called SMS blasters, which trick phones into making a direct connection with an attacker\u2019s radio device, thinking it\u2019s a real network access point.<\/p>\n The texts themselves are no different to the ones coming via normal networks \u2014 but for an attacker there\u2019s no need to have a list of target numbers, they can select a target location instead. This means they can prioritize areas with richer pickings.<\/p>\n ForbesDelete Every App That\u2019s On This List\u2014\u2018Risks Are Too Great\u2019By Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Police in the U.K, when one SMS-blasting cyber criminal was jailed this week, warn<\/a> that criminals will try “to bypass fraud prevention measures designed to protect consumers [to]<\/p>\n steal personal and financial information, so it\u2019s important that customers are alert to potential threats of fraud, particularly text messages.\u201d<\/p>\n Google<\/a> warns that \u201cthis method to inject messages entirely bypasses the carrier network, thus bypassing all the sophisticated network-based anti-spam and anti-fraud filters.\u201d The company has now seen this \u201cSMS Blaster fraud\u201d in multiple countries.<\/p>\n Google also says that increasing evidence \u201cof the exploitation of weaknesses in cellular communication standards leveraging cell-site simulators\u201d means users need to act.<\/p>\n The solution is to disable 2G networks on your phone. This is still dependent on manufacturer and model, but you can search for 2G or phone or cellular settings to check if it\u2019s available. 2G is woefully insecure compared to more recent networks, particularly 5G but also 4G (LTE) and even 3G.<\/p>\n This is why Google and Samsung<\/a> are upgrading devices to prevent Android phones connecting to these less secure networks. 2G is also disabled by default if Android 16\u2019s new Advanced Protection Mode<\/a> is enabled. The police advice is to disable 2G.<\/p>\n Disable 2G on your phone<\/p>\n Google<\/p>\n Remember, even in locations where 2G has been sunsetted, the phone will still connect to a fake cell access point if it has 2G enabled. This is a device level problem.<\/p>\n As a rarity, this is one security area where Androids beat iPhones. You cannot currently disable 2G on an Apple device unless you use Apple\u2019s Lockdown Mode sledgehammer<\/a>. But you can filter texts from unknown numbers and treat them all with suspicion. And the advice not to click links is the same however a text was sent to your phone.<\/p>\n And on that note, while SMS blasters might be a risk to users unlucky enough to find themselves in the vicinity of one, the real dangers remain network based. According to Trend Micro\u2019s<\/a> latest report, the primary threat last month was \u201ccybercriminals using their regular tactics in trying to scam consumers, with scammers impersonating well known brands such as PayPal, Netflix, Mater Lotteries, Toyota and Google.\u201d<\/p>\n The security firm says \u201cthe golden rule of any scam, online or otherwise, is that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.\u201d And that holds true however a text is sent to your phone, and whatever lure is used to trick you into engaging.<\/p>\n ForbesMinecraft\u2019s New Hostile Mob \u2014 These Villains Steal EverythingBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Trend Micro advises users to watch for these danger signs:<\/p>\n For Google\u2019s Pixel users at least, there\u2019s now some good news<\/a> as the fight against phone scams continues. At least where calls are concerned. But the Android-maker is also using similar technology to flag scams texts, and has highlighted the growing threat.<\/p>\n As first seen by Android Authority<\/a>, \u201cGoogle seems to be planning to integrate Scam Detection and Call Screen features into the Pixel device setup process. Currently, these protective features need to be manually enabled by users, so there\u2019s a fair chance many people don\u2019t know these features exist on their phones in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n This is important because while Google is to be lauded for these new security features, it\u2019s all for nothing if they\u2019re not on by default or easily set up. And this seems to be the fix. \u201cThis change could thus increase user adoption of these crucial security features.\u201d<\/p>\n As Google<\/a> explains, scam detection on Pixel phones \u201cis off by default. The user has to actively opt in to turn on the feature. You can always turn off Scam Detection in Settings or from the in-call menu for a particular call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n