Do You Get Text-Message Spam?
I never get unwanted text messages, but I know the problem exists because I once had a demo phone that a carrier lent me that would get multiple text messages a day offering discount mortgages, prescription drugs, or other offers commonly associated with email spam. I never bothered to fix it since it wasn’t my phone, but David Pogue over at the New York Times (NYSE: NYT), which faced the problem personally, took the time to uncover the solution for all the top carriers. And, you may want to take note, because as mobile content becomes a bigger business, so likely will spam. AT&T (NYSE: T) sounds like it has the most comprehensive solution, which addresses the issue by blocking all text messages sent from the Internet since typically spam is sent this way. Using this technique, it also still allows you to receive text messages from friends who sent them via their phone. The other carriers have different approaches, so if you have a problem, read about them here.
I get a text message spam every two weeks or so. The last one was from "Key Point Credit Union" telling me it had to lock my bank account. Good thing I'm not a customer there!
I have never really faced any text spam here in U.S.. In UK, where I go every few months, the texts are more for promotional services for the operators themselves, which at times gets annoying. But in India, where I go every year to meet family, the pre-paid SIM cards and phones have the heaviest amount of ads and spams sent to them. Some people say that to stop these messages, you have to pay extra, sort of an extortion scheme, if you ask me.
The only SMS spam I got was from a company called CellFire. These guys have an app you download onto your cell phone that is supposed to deliver mobile coupons (it does..). About a week later I started getting SMS spam and it was from Cellfire. Here's the catch….buried deep in their user agreement are a few choice words that basically say we can/will send you anthing, including SMS text message – which totally negates the point of using downloadable software. You can opt out – but after a few spam messages I just removed their software from my phone. no more ads via SMS.