The Nokia 1100
Why is a 6 year old phone without SMS, a calendar, alarm clock, music player, panini grill, or projector capabilities of interest to so many these days? It turns out that certain models of the Nokia 1100, one of the best selling cellphones in history (sorry Apple,) can also be used to commit bank fraud.
Several savvy hackers have found a way to allow this phone to receive text messages from other numbers, allowing them to intercept account information and passwords from their unsuspecting victims.
Lesson to be learned: When a nice Nigerian prince is kind enough to allow you to hold onto his massive fortune while he escapes the country, don't send your bank account information to him via SMS! It may be intercepted by OTHER thieves in Eastern Europe.
My first question is, Who sends secure information from a cell phone?!? I can see such a person walking along the streets of St. Paul when he or she suddenly gets the urge to transer funds into their retirement account. Out comes the old cell phone.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't this just a symptom of the drive for the Grand Unified Device, that being the one device you can use to:
-- call home
-- buy camo gear
-- book an airline ticket
-- write your doctoral dissertation
-- download and listen to the Fugs
-- download and watch "The Moon in the Gutter" and then join a chat room of fellow aficionados of 1980s French movies adopted from American comic strips starring Natassia Kinski
-- grill a 12-ounce porterhouse to perfection
-- fit in pocket or purse