AdaptiveMobile Blogs

26th August 2008    Current rating: 

For most of us, peer acknowledgement holds more weight than we would like to admit. A case in point is the very cleverly assembled “Who’s Who” market listing. Targeted recipients receive an email stating that they have been nominated for this prestigious list and need only verify some details with a “Director” from the “Institute” to receive the award. When the person calls, they are given a thorough, ego-affirming interview and congratulated on their acceptance into the 'fold' but then quickly overtaken by a standard and quite pressurised sales pitch to purchase a “membership.” (Only paid members are allowed to appear on the list.)

For those of you who think that you are beyond such trickery, the mobile Beselo virus holds insight into the importance we place on inclusion and the risks we will take to be “in.”Beselo spreads via MMS and disguises itself as a multimedia file (so photo, wallpaper, music download, etc.) It spreads using the contacts in a person’s phonebook, and many people are fooled into thinking that a friend or colleague has sent them the attachment. Once the attachment is opened, the virus is downloaded to that phone and continues to spread.

Beyond personal pictures, there has not been large scale sharing of multimedia files mobile to mobile. So, what would cause people to throw caution aside and open attachments on their phones? Our guess is that the inclusion factor plays at least a small part. Who does not want to be in on the latest fad in mobile? Whether it is a video, ringtone or image, being in the know is very attractive for most of us – and the creators of Beselo knew this and gambled on it. With mobile, one must be as cautious as with seemingly legitimate sales pitches, and realize that confirming the source of the communication is essential before taking any next step.

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