Mobile users under threat from spammers and scammers

With the region having one of the highest mobile penetrations in the world - particularly of smartphones - the threat is seen as particularly severe in the Arabian Gulf, said Gareth Maclachlan, Chief Operating Officer of AdaptiveMobile, urging mobile operators to offer virus disinfection and spam screening services for their customers.

Speaking at the Middle East Communications Exhibition and Conference (MECOM 2008) which runs at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until Wednesday (28 April 2008), Maclachlan said: "There are worldwide concerns but the Middle East for many reasons is being hit by more incidents of spam or fraudulent SMS traffic."

The UK company's global monitoring had identified 344 mobile viruses, with the number climbing much faster than viruses targeting computers on the internet. Of the viruses, only seven produced the most mobile traffic but growth has been dramatic. "In 2007 we found that 0.5% of subscribers had a virus on their phone," Maclachlan said. "Twelve months later that had grown to 6%. By February this year there had been a 1000% increase in the number of infected subscribers."

The risk is seen as greatest for smartphone and Bluetooth users linking their devices with computer networks. Increasing use by mobile operators of "all-you-can-eat" subscription packages allowing users to send as many messages as they like were also providing spammers and scammers with more opportunities.

Fraud and security was a major theme yesterday in the series of conferences taking place alongside the MECOM exhibition being held under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

"Operators will come under increasing pressure from subscribers as more and more of them find their mobiles becoming infected by viruses, or the targets of spam and fraudulent attempts to steal their credit," said David Hirst, Director MECOM 2008. "The threat in the Middle East is particularly high and mobile operators need to take action to identify and prevent threats to maintain customer satisfaction."

MECOM, with more than international and regional exhibitors, is the region's premier dedicated event for the telecommunications industry showcasing the best in hardware, software and services. MECOM is officially supported by the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and Dubai Internet City. ICT Industry Partner for the event is Dubai Internet City. Platinum sponsors are etisalat, the UAE Information and Communication Technology Fund and du. Gold sponsors are Ericsson, Blackberry, EMS and the Abu Dhabi Media Company.