Myy cellphone was compromised

January 26, 2020 6:06 PM

My Samsung S7 phone (provider Consumer Cellular) was hacked/compromised/spoofed last night when a friend received two text messages subject "Help" and "SOS" with a nvg photo of me and a nvg Google map. She called the cops who came to my front door at 1.30 am to find all well, Confusion all round ensued. I have changed my Google password although I have had two step security for two years or more, so how has this happened and what further steps can I take to prevent this happening again?
posted by lungtaworld to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Hacked/compromised is not the same as spoofed. Is there some reason you think the message actually came from your phone or Google account?

Also, what is “nvg?” All I’m coming up with is “night vision goggles” and “not very good.”
posted by jon1270 at 6:28 PM on January 26, 2020 [2 favorites]

I would say spoofed too, but if they used a photo of you, they were specifically spoofing your number and they knew a number from your address book. So, it is either someone who knows you both or maybe they did get access to your account somehow.
posted by AugustWest at 6:43 PM on January 26, 2020

Best answer: Could you have accidentally triggered the SOS Messages feature (link is to Verizon but it's a phone specific feature) by bumping the power button 3 times? Even if you were in bed that late maybe the phone was wedged under a pillow or whatever.

I'd check to see if that feature is turned on, and if it is, not worry about your phone being hacked or anything.

nvg is probably "not very good"
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 6:53 PM on January 26, 2020 [8 favorites]

Best answer: A friend of mine with an Android phone (not sure which one) keeps accidentally activating the SOS on his phone...and I'm the recipient. It sends a photo from the front camera, a photo from the back camera, a Google map of the phone's location, and a generic message like "I'm having an emergency" or the like. So far, each time I've been able to phone him and ask what's happening, so no police involvement. But given how easy it is to accidentally trigger it, I'd first assume that is what happened.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:54 PM on January 26, 2020 [7 favorites]

Is the picture of you the same as the icon photo in your google account?

It'll be front-and-center when you go to https://myaccount.google.com/ (after logging in to google, if you haven't already)

It gets sent along in some cases with SMS/MMS, and often gets sent at low resolution, resulting in very good looking pictures looking like dog vomit.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:54 PM on January 26, 2020

There's something called SIM-swapping fraud. Be super-vigilant about any accounts that send a text message for verification, which is most of them.
posted by theora55 at 8:47 PM on January 26, 2020

Response by poster: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug and BlahLaLa nailed it! I had completely forgotten about this function which I must have turned on long ago.
Under 'Advanced Features' this phone does all sorts of things with 1, 2, 3, or long presses of the Home Button which I had forgotten. I now owe my friend big time! My thanks to all!
posted by lungtaworld at 6:03 AM on January 27, 2020 [3 favorites]