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Spam Invades Text Messages

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This is a true mobile age. Cellphones have become an indispensable tool. As spammers realize the every-present nature of the mobile phone, they have resorted to using it to their advantage. Spammers can reach users at a near instant capability and pummel them with their message to get some kind of response.

While often just annoying, some text messages utilize scams that simply require the user to tap the screen and they are signed up for some service that is difficult or impossible to cancel. Some promise winners a prize for completing a survey in a scam known as smishing. The user provides private information and does not receive the prize. When the user’s phone privacy is compromised, the receiver is potentially charged for the incoming texts depending on their texting plan.

Federal law tries to ensure phone privacy by making it illegal to spam mobile numbers. The CAN Spam Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act both make such a practice illegal. Websites have been set up to report violators. Most major wireless carriers offer the ability to report numbers. Several Android apps work to limit spam, although this software is not available for the iPhone.

Mobile phone privacy is difficult to accomplish as text spam is harder to track and eliminate than email. A primary reason spammers have resorted to using text messaging is the difficulty associated with tracking down the senders. Although email spam prevention is still prevalent, the technology to block it is vastly superior to the current solutions for blocking mobile spam.

For a time carriers were able to help maintain phone privacy by flagging when a large number of emails were sent from a single number. In recent years, spammers bypassed these phone privacy settings by using a bank of numbers.

There are few options for the user who wishes to ensure phone privacy. One option is using the PrivacyStar service to block specific numbers from getting text messages to the phone. Replying with STOP or NO will only confirm the number is working. Users cannot simply block a single number as often the spam comes from multiple sources. Many carriers are working with Cloudmark, a leader is spam prevention. Receivers of spam can forward the messages to 7726 (SPAM). It will then be sent to the carrier to investigate. Ultimately until carriers develop a better system to limit text spam, users will continue to have few options and may need to consider blocking all texts or purchasing unlimited texting plans.


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