Latvian finance mayhem over viral SMS rumors

(((I don't wanna wax all cybarmageddon Cold Web War hacker-under-the-bed here, but remember this?)))

"A Nice Opportunity for a Latvian Cyberwar"
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2007/11/a-nice-opportun.html

(((This isn't a cyberwar like the one that hit Estonia, but
Latvia's podunk little currency is suddenly on the ropes.
And in the same month as these anti-corruption protests that involve the Russian ethnic community. And it's done by anonymous rumor-mongering on cellphones.
Hmmmm.)))

Link: Latvia's hot growth fuels devaluation fears - International Herald Tribune.

"In February, an article by a Swedish academic appeared in a leading Latvian newspaper suggesting that the tiny Baltic country might have to abandon its peg to the euro. Soon after, the rumor mill kicked in.

"Hundreds of citizens received an anonymous text message on their mobile phones warning of an imminent devaluation. Primed to believe the worst, thousands of people, many of whom had taken out euro-denominated loans in the past five years, stormed foreign exchange bureaus to swap their lats for euros.

"When I got the SMS from a relative, I thought it was a joke," said Maris Avontis, chief executive of Hansabanka, a top Latvian bank that is owned by Swedbank of Sweden.

But the authorities were not laughing.

The Latvian government quickly started a criminal investigation on the grounds that the messages amounted to sabotage of the financial system....