Symbian has acknowledged that a Trojan virus is circulating via an illegal game download and may affect certain handsets running Symbian OS Series 60.
Symbian warned that the illegal game, called Mosquito, has been tracked to illegal software download sites and peer-to-peer networks and was adapted from the legitimate Mosquito game developed by Ojom.
After installation and during play, the illegal game may cause the phone to send text messages to premium rate numbers, reportedly in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, without the user’s awareness. Symbian said the user may not know that the sends have occurred without checking the sent files or their bills.
The virus apparently does not cause any other damage and can be easily erased by deleting the pirated Mosquito game.
The BBC has reported that the virus was actually created by the original game developer, Ojom, as a way to alert the developer of pirated versions of the game. The function did not work as expected.
In a press statement, Symbian warned users to be aware of the risks of downloading and installing illegal or pirated software.
