Rapid battery drain and significant heating can indicate a phone virus infection, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), as stated via their Telegram channel «Vestnik kiberpolitsii Rossii» (Herald of Russia`s Cyberpolice).
The agency identified unusual device behavior as a key sign of compromise. They described symptoms such as the phone becoming noticeably slower, quick battery depletion, spontaneous reboots, or overheating even when it is not in use.
Additional signs mentioned by the MVD include the appearance of unfamiliar pop-up ads or notifications that weren`t present before. Furthermore, the presence of unknown applications that the owner did not install on the phone could point to a virus.
The ministry also noted that existing applications might start requesting unusual permissions, such as access to SMS, calls, or location for seemingly unrelated apps like a photo album or flashlight. The appearance of unknown numbers in call history or text messages the device owner did not send are also considered potential indicators of a virus.
Separately, the ministry recently warned about current scam tactics observed on WhatsApp and Telegram, where malicious actors pose as government officials to contact users.
Another reported scam involves fraudsters calling Russian citizens, pretending to be phone service operators and offering to test a new function. The goal of these attackers is to gain unauthorized access to the subscriber`s personal account and take control of their phone number.
