Encyclopedia

ICE hoax

 
Threat LevelLow threatDamageHighDistributionNot widespread
Common name:ICE hoax
Technical name:ICE hoax
Threat level:Medium
Alias:In Case of Emergency
Type:Hoax
Effects:  

It generates a false alarm by reporting the existence of threats related to the ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact: a cellphone virus that sends itself to the ICE Contact List, or that charges a premium rate message to the user's cellphone.

Affected platforms:

Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95

First detected on:July 22, 2005
Detection updated on:July 26, 2005
StatisticsNo

Brief Description 

    

ICE hoax is not a virus; it is a hoax or an email message, whose content warns of malicious uses that are related with the ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact. For example, it supposedly can charge a premium rate message to the user's cellphone, it can be a virus that is sent to the ICE Contact List, etc. But these threats do not actually exist.

ICE is an initiative to get in touch with the relatives of possible victims involved in accidents, catastrophes or similar situations. It consists in adding an ICE entry with the name and telephone number of the contact.

The aim of ICE hoax is to cause alarm and get users to forward the message.

In order to avoid problems, disregard this information, as it is completely false. You should also immediately delete the message, without forwarding it to anyone.

Visible Symptoms 

    

ICE hoax arrives in an apparently normal email message, which can be identified by its content. It reports the existence of a threat, either a virus or a premium rate message charged to the user cellphone, related to the ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact.

Last updated:  26/07/2005 

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