Update to Facebook Messenger for iOS Prevents Scammers from Forcing iPhones to Place Calls

Facebook is rolling out an update to its Messenger application for iOS to protect users from a vulnerability in the operating system that allowed scammers to force users’ iPhones to automatically place expensive calls.

AngryWomanPointingCellPhone650Facebook is rolling out an update to its Messenger application for iOS to protect users from a vulnerability in the operating system that allowed scammers to force users’ iPhones to automatically place expensive calls.

The iOS vulnerability was originally discovered by Andrei Neculaesei, a developer with Copenhagen, Denmark-based Airtame, who described the issue in a blog post, saying that scammers could exploit it via apps that do not provide pop-up warnings when phone calls are placed, which included Messenger, Apple’s FaceTime and Google’s Google Plus and Gmail.

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