A highly contagious virus in the form of a text message is eating away the cash deposits of mobile phones. Although police have warned cell phone users not to download the software in the message, telecom operators should cover the losses suffered by customers because they have been paid to guarantee protection services against such attacks, says a commentary in Guangming Daily. Excerpts:

Any mobile phone that receives the viral text message will automatically send it to all the contacts listed in its directory, spreading the virus at exponential speed. And if the phone user downloads the software in the message, the virus will eat into the deposits to pay for text messages in other phones. As a result, users will lose money without realizing it.

Neither telecom operators nor cell phone users know the source of the "super virus". And lawyers say customers have little chance to get compensation from the operators for the loss they suffer.

Something similar happened in November 2010, when a virus called Zombi "ate away" 2 million yuan ($324,000) in deposits from 1 million mobile phones in just one week.

Mobile phone users pay telecom operators for a service that is supposed to safeguard their data and deposits. The operators, therefore, should shield the customers against virus attacks and hacking. Yet many customers are losing money without any warning from the telecom operators, and the only word of caution has come from police.

The operators must be held accountable for failing to prevent users' losses caused by the virus instead of simply telling them to be on guard against possible hackers. If they have failed to keep hackers at bay, they should pay for all the losses.