BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

New Mac Malware Scams Users Into Signing Up For Cellphone Charges

This article is more than 10 years old.

Time for Apple users to heed a lesson Windows users have long learned the hard way: Don't hand out your cell phone number to untrusted applications downloaded from the Web.

On Tuesday, Russian antivirus firm Doctor Web reported the appearance of a new strain of Mac-focused malware that queries users for their cellphone number when they try to install a piece of legitimate software. If the user enters a phone number, he or she receives a text message asking for a reply with a registration code. Responding implicitly signs up the user for a series of recurring mobile charges to their carrier's account.

Though the sample Doctor Web found targeted Russians by piggybacking on an application for listening to music on the popular Russian social media site Vkontakte, screenshots of the malware show that the fraudulent installer uses English-language text, a sign that it may also be targeting non-Russians.

"Doctor Web once again warns users against installing programs if they are required to submit their phone number or send a text message—most likely, you will lose money and end up with nothing," the antivirus firm warns in its blog post about the new malware. "

Doctor Web says the text-message scam installer isn't new. But it's only recently been converted to target Mac users, the first such scam of its kind to hit Apple's relatively malware-free operating system.

This year has seen a series of new cybercriminal attacks on Apple users: In April, Doctor Web was also the first to spot the "Flashback" botnet that at its peak included over 600,000 hijacked Macs. In July, the first real piece of malware in Apple's iOS App Store appeared. And human rights organizations have reported a surge in targeted attacks affecting their Apple devices.

Windows malware, of course, still vastly outnumbers the few samples that have been found targeting Macs. But Apple users may make attractive targets simply because they're unused to dealing with fraudsters and generally don't run antivirus on their PCs. As the company's invulnerability erodes, however, its users would be wise to make a New Year's resolution to adopt some of the wariness of their Windows counterparts.