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My girlfriend (let's call her Jane) just got a set of SMS or MMS messages coming from a friend of her (let's call her Hellen). These messages contain:

  1. Two photos of Hellen
  2. A voice message
  3. A text that says "I need help" followed by a Google Maps link.

And according to the messaging application, they where sent to 5 people, including Jane.

With all this being extremely suspicious, I told Jane not to touch anything on that messages and asked Hellen a bunch of questions:

  1. The phone is a Samsung Galaxy J5
  2. Android version is 7.1.1
  3. Hellen did not take those pictures of herself, and the pictures do look accidental, like if the phone took the photos while she was just holding it doing another thing.
  4. Hellen doesn't remember any recent apps installed or unusual web activity (I don't fully trust her on this one but whatever).

With the case exposed, I ask you:

  1. I am right assuming this is only Hellen's problem and as long as Jane ignored and deleted her messages she is safe?
  2. How should we proceed about Hellen's phone? A simple factory reset would do it?
  3. How can we prevent this situation in the future?
David K
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ravasaurio
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    What's the content of the voice message? – That Brazilian Guy Apr 23 '18 at 15:20
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    Did Helen remember sending any of those messages and photos, or is it implied that this happened without her being aware of it at the time? – henning Apr 26 '18 at 14:38
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    @henning She did it by accident and didn't even remember she had that feature configured. – ravasaurio Apr 26 '18 at 15:02
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    "... and while you were figuring out the questions to ask Hellen, she got killed" would be the ending of another story. –  Apr 26 '18 at 17:45
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    @Paul Imagine an scenario where you're being assaulted, raped... I don't know, think bad things. You're not going to tell the assaulter: "hold on, let me call the police first". But three fast touches to the power button? that's easier to do. Of course your friends need to know those kind of messages are legit and if they ever recieve one of them, they call the police. The only problem I see with this feature is that is not a well known one, so we confused it with spam. Luckily there was no emergency going on. – ravasaurio Apr 27 '18 at 10:01

2 Answers2

185

This does not seem to be a virus. It is a panic function in some android phones, that allows to send these messages in case you are kidnapped or otherwise in danger by pressing the power button 3 times. She must have activated it accidentally.

More info here and here.

Peter Harmann
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    @forest https://www.gadgetsloud.com/sos-feature-panic-button-smartphones/ and https://gs6.gadgethacks.com/how-to/use-sos-feature-your-galaxy-s6-case-emergency-0161449/ Please note that I did not read these articles in full, I know about this feature because I found it on my phone and set it up. – Peter Harmann Apr 23 '18 at 13:39
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    Although the question is about Android, [iOS has a similar feature](https://www.imore.com/how-set-and-use-emergency-sos-your-iphone-ios-11). – S.L. Barth Apr 23 '18 at 13:54
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    Wow, I didn't knew about that function and I thought it was virus related. I asked her to check if it was active and it was, so that was "the problem" (I guess we can not call it a problem anymore) Thank you very much! – ravasaurio Apr 23 '18 at 14:33
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    Looking at the articles and from prior knowledge, this feature certainly does not apply to "all Android phones". It appears to be a manufacturer-specific feature, apparently Samsung. – multithr3at3d Apr 23 '18 at 15:35
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    @multithr3at3d It's actually a feature required for all phones [sold in India](http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/27/technology/india-smartphone-panic-button-rape/index.html). Manufacturers carried it over worldwide because they did all the work anyway. – user71659 Apr 25 '18 at 02:40
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    @MartinBonner Even leaving aside the crime component, what if you get in a car accident on an isolated highway, can reach your phone but not speak/etc.? There are more uses for emergency services than just in response to a crime. – JAB Apr 25 '18 at 20:21
  • @PeterHarmann Off topic, but you're assuming the distribution of crimes is uniform across the population which is definitely incorrect. Violent crimes are highly correlated to people involved in gangs and drugs, as high as 90% in places like Chicago. These crimes are repetitive, so people who are victims will continue to be victims. On top of that there's a income correlation, with violent crimes affecting low incomes far more. – user71659 Apr 26 '18 at 04:23
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    That's a pretty ***good implementation*** of a useful feature. The only problem is that everybody thinks ***which kind of false alarm*** that might be. Never even thinking it might be a ***real actual alarm with Helen in danger!*** – Volker Siegel Apr 26 '18 at 05:31
  • Of course that is happen only here because of the context. The OP should of course take that possibility into account. Oh, and it's actually a brilliant feature, because even in close proximity to an aggressor, you can use it without even revealing you have a phone! – Volker Siegel Apr 26 '18 at 05:34
  • @JAB Of course there are niche applications, but "car accident on an isolated highway, can reach your phone but not speak" is really only a scenario worth considering in a movie plot. My (off topic) point remains: the (western) world is really *not* a dangerous place. – Martin Bonner supports Monica Apr 26 '18 at 05:45
  • @user71659 first of all, I did declare my assumption, and that the real chance will be somewhat lower. That being said, the statistics are from Czech republic (where I am) and there are no gangs here. – Peter Harmann Apr 26 '18 at 08:38
  • @user71659 It is indeed a usedul feature and a well implemented one. You can't say it's a well known one though. Hellen didn't even remember configuring it, and she used it by accident. When we asked her about the messages she had no idea and that's why we thought it was a virus related thing. – ravasaurio Apr 26 '18 at 10:00
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This is an exact description of the panic feature built into phones as Peter Harmann already said.

Anecdotally I can tell you on my previous Samsung smartphone, I could trigger this exact feature by pressing the power button 3 times in a quick succession. My phone would then take a couple pictures record a short clip of audio and then text those along with my current gps location to a list of contacts I had set up previously. This could actually be incredibly useful as a panic feature to get help when you are in so much danger that you can't otherwise call/text for help.

I'll address your questions a little more specifically:

  1. I am right assuming this is only Hellen's problem and as long as Jane ignored and deleted her messages she is safe?

If this was an actual emergency for Hellen, you absolutely should not ignore her cries for help. If this was some sort of virus, then it could take advantage in one of two ways:

  1. It sent you a link you need to click on. (Obviously, not clicking it is the correct action and you'll be fine if you don't click it. Just delete the messages so you don't accidentally click it in the future.)
  2. It sent you a text that is able to exploit your messenger app in some way. Like the single-character messages that crashed iPhones. In that case, you are compromised just by opening the text. Proceed assuming you have been compromised.
  1. How should we proceed about Hellen's phone? A simple factory reset would do it?

If this was a virus text, it could have come in multiple ways.

  1. Hellen's phone is indeed compromised. A factory reset might do it. Or it might not. Malware can be very hard to get off a machine once it has its hooks deep inside.
  2. The attacker didn't compromise Hellen's phone, they just spoofed her number to call/text their victims.
  3. The attacker impersonated Hellen in order to steal her number. Hellen's phone is fine (except that it no longer works as a phone because her number is stolen).
  1. How can we prevent this situation in the future?

Hellen can turn off her panic feature or take you off the texting list.

As for malware texts, there's not much you can do about your friends getting hacked except educating them or getting different friends.

What should you do if you get a text like this?

First, try to call your friend. They might actually be in trouble. Or they might be fine and it was just a mistake. Or it might be malware. Now you both know and can deal with it accordingly.

Second, they might not be able to answer you because of their emergency. Still don't click any links, but do call the authorities or other people who could help. Especially if the pictures or audio indicates they are in serious danger.

Third, if it is an emergency, you might need that information from the link (i.e. their location on google maps). You can type in the link manually if it looks like its a trustworthy destination (i.e. google maps). Or if this is time critical and you've confirmed this is an emergency, you might just have to bite the bullet and click the link.

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Kallmanation
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    Thank you for your answer Kallmanation. Don't worry about Hellen, she's fine. When I saw the message I told Jane not to click anything and tell Hellen if she wrote that messages, and she told us she didn't, that's why I thought it might be a virus. That and me not knowing that feature even existed. Jane and I have enabled it and instructed our closest friends and family members about how those SOS messages look like and if they ever recieve one on our name they should know how to act. – ravasaurio Apr 23 '18 at 15:52
  • And next time she sends a test alert, she should warn the recipients beforehand. (It's good to test rarely-used features like this, but only when everyone involved knows what's happening. My volunteer response organisation sends me a call-out message a couple of times a year, that I'm expected to respond to. Clearly marked as a test call-out, of course). – Toby Speight Apr 23 '18 at 16:49
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    *"First, try to call your friend."* Erm... you might not be doing a favor by doing this. Use your imagination a little. If your friend could speak on the phone she would've probably called just you... – user541686 Apr 24 '18 at 01:00
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    I'm with @Mehrdad. I can imagine scenarios in which someone might be coerced into assuring a caller that everything is fine. (Pretty sure I've seen this on movies/TV, and it looks plausible. At the least, I can't be the only person to have thought of this, so an attacker might be that one other person who has had the same idea.) – Mathieu K. Apr 24 '18 at 02:23
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    As @Mehrdad has not mentioned it explicitly - by calling your friend you can reveal his/her location in a case he/she is trying to hide. – abukaj Apr 24 '18 at 09:39
  • This is actually the best answer. – dr_ Apr 24 '18 at 10:25
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    Seriously, does nobody watch horror flicks? Receiving an incoming call is about the worst thing that can happen when you're in a dangerous situation and trying to hide. – R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE Apr 25 '18 at 15:56
  • @R.., Ironically the iOS version of this makes a very loud noise as well. I guess it's meant to be used in case of accidents, so people can locate the sound to find you. – William Apr 26 '18 at 09:30
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    @Mehrdad and others Being incapacitated (through an accident or fall, heart attack, etc.) and therefore unable to perform complex tasks like unlocking the phone, looking for a contact, etc. is a much more common use case for this feature than being under duress. They might or might not be able to answer but imagination can lead you astray here. – Relaxed Apr 26 '18 at 18:46
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    @Relaxed: Common sense helps here. You could do a ton of other things... ask a friend/neighbor what's up, email them, send them an SMS, see if they're online on Facebook and message them there, etc... yes, their phone *might* vibrate or beep for messages, but it's less likely than for a call (presumably they'd have thought of at least silencing notifications if not calls!) and a beep is better than constant ringing. If all else fails then you can make a decision as to whether it's better to call them or call the cops, but my point is you can do better than do the worst possible thing. – user541686 Apr 26 '18 at 19:16
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    @Mehrdad Common sense tells me that calling is exactly the right thing to do. My point is that going out of your way to avoid that, calling it “the worse possible thing“ and considering ludicrous ideas like emailing or messaging on Facebook is not based on common sense but on watching too many movies. Calling a neighbour or paramedics would be the second things to try. For one person who is trying to hide and betrayed by a call, there will be ten who die from a mundane accident because you're being too slow or expecting them to do something much more complicated than take a call. – Relaxed Apr 26 '18 at 20:33
  • @Mehrdad Yes, as I explained earlier, taking a call is extremely easy, placing one is more difficult, and opening an app like Facebook or answering on it is even more difficult (even to simply “like” it, which is again another far-fetched scenario). And of course I don't know what movies you watch, it's just a metaphor for obsessing about complex crimes when mundane accidents are a much more important risk. I don't really care if you get that from reading too many novels, videos games, internet forums or what not. – Relaxed Apr 26 '18 at 21:25
  • @Mehrdad Note that your scenario is also full of heroic assumptions: So your friend is trying to hide, would be endangered by a call and somehow had to resort to an emergency function but they are still able to read the screen and perform complex interactions on the phone. Why didn't they chat you up then? – Relaxed Apr 26 '18 at 21:28
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    Yes, it might be a situation where the friend is trying to hide, but more realistically she is trying to get out of a bad date, and thus needs a phonecall to get out of it easily – sch Apr 27 '18 at 11:55
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    Looks like someone needs to launch a media campaign to educate the public that their phones might send these alerts, they are legit, and recipients should take them seriously. I've never heard of this before and I would have been extremely skeptical of getting these kinds of texts from someone I knew. – Todd Wilcox Apr 27 '18 at 21:16
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    As a software engineer, I have to say that this feature has been terribly implemented, given its importance. Receivers of these SOS messages should instantly understand what's happening. Terrible design. – Mark Apr 29 '18 at 09:56