“Sonia disowns Rahul” mobile virus hoax

A rumour circulating social media claims users should not accept a video called “Sonia disowns Rahul” as it is a virus that formats your mobile phone.

The full text can be seen below –

Tell all contacts from your list not to accept a video called “Sonia disowns Rahul “. It is a virus that formats your mobile. Beware it is very dangerous. They announced it today on the radio. Fwd this msg to as many as you can

Like many messages that warn of destructive viruses that are apparently “doing the rounds”, this warning is essentially useless and provides nothing to back up the claims made within.

The assertion that you should not “accept” a video is in itself a rather confused message. The warning doesn’t explain how the video is spreading across the Internet. Mobile phone users can come across videos in many different ways including on Facebook, services like WhatsApp or SnapChat or even just watching them on websites like YouTube or Vine.

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Additionally the claim that the virus can “format” your mobile phone is plain false. This is not how viruses work. This just appears to be a later derivative of earlier popular hoaxes that claim the latest “most destructive virus ever” will “format your C drive”.

The warning finishes with the assertion that it was announced on the radio. Not particularly helpful given the number of radio stations on the planet. But again this is just deritivate statement from earlier hoaxes that would popularly claim that it “was announced by CNN” or “announced by Microsoft.”

With all this said, viruses can and do target mobile users, so do not open files or attachments that you don’t trust. They may not format your phone, but they can still cause you plenty of trouble.

Ultimately this rumour is just a rehash from start to finish of dozens of earlier hoaxes. It does not appear to contain any truth to it whatsoever.