The Flubot phone scam is prevalent in Australia and spreading elsewhere.
FluBot is a text message scam that is part of a large-scale attack on mobile phones . It only affects Android devices currently The messages can appear to be from a delivery service like DHL, or other companies like Amazon and tell you to click a link to track your delivery for example.
If you click the link in the message, this will then try to download the malware to your device. If the app is installed, the malware will try to take over your device, allowing more infected text messages to be sent to your contacts without your knowledge. The scammer could also gain access to your messages and online banking details.
It will also ask other infected phones to send Flubot messages to the numbers it steals from your phone, continuing and expanding the scam. So, if you called the person that sent you the message, it would be another victim of the scam whose device was infected.
How does Flubot work?
Flubot text messages are sent with a link which almost always contains a series of 5-9 random letters and numbers at the end. This is the process:
- Phone owner gets a text message containing a link
2. Clicks link and is invited to install software
3. Phone becomes infected with malware
4. Infected phone’s contacts are added to central list of Flubot text messages
5. Flubot tries to steal banking, contact and personal information from infected device
If you click or tap on the link you will usually be taken to a screen where you will be asked to download an app for a purpose that relates to the text message. Or it say you have been infected with Flubot and should click the link to download the antidote.
If Your Device is Infected
You need to do a factory reset of your phone or take it to a professional.
You can find instructions online for how to reset your brand of phone. It is a quick process but will result in loss of data and APPS on the phone.
If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.
