SLCERT warns public against video claiming phones will explode if answered

Colombo, October 24 (Daily Mirror) - The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) has informed the public not to panic over a video message circulating on social media, which falsely claims that mobile phones will explode immediately if answered.

SLCERT Senior Information Security Engineer Charuka Damunupola told the Daily Mirror that they have received several calls regarding this matter.

The video instructs viewers to listen carefully and share the message with friends. 

It claims: "If you receive a call from numbers starting with 13 or 4, do not answer under any circumstances. Your phone will explode immediately when you answer the call. This has already happened, and many people have died in Singapore and India. I’m not sure if it affects Sri Lanka as well. Don’t answer calls from numbers starting with 13 or 4, and share this message with everyone.”

Damunupola clarified that no incidents of exploding mobile phones following a phone call have been reported.

The video also shows disturbing images of a headless man sitting in a pool of blood, which many people have recognized as unrelated to the voice message circulating on WhatsApp.

SLCERT has handed over the video to their investigation team to verify the facts, based on several requests they received to investigate into calls reportedly coming from numbers starting with 13 or 4.

Damunupola explained that there is no technical possibility of causing a mobile phone to explode through a call. A highly complex programme could potentially be sent via an internet connection to a phone, but such a programme would likely cause the phone to crash or freeze, not explode.

The story of phone calls from numbers starting with 13 or 4 is baseless, he said. People are spreading false information to cause unnecessary fear. Even if a phone were to explode due to a technical fault, it would not be triggered by an incoming call.

Therefore, the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team has advised the public not to believe in such misconceptions.