Comments on: FAQ: How to vanquish mobile spam

Here's what the major wireless carriers say you should do when you get that pesky text spam.

[briceorbryce]

I've gotten a few of them. Pisses me off because our family plan doesn't include unlimited text messages.

[dc5trust]

That really sucks! I would be pretty darn pissed that I'm getting charged for something I didnt want in the first place.

[4score20]

Unfortunately I don't think there are private communication spaces anymore. Where there are people there will be spammers/advertisers. We track them in like mud or poop on our shoes.

[Truckdrvr]

Great analogy!

[Dr. Zzz]

Sounds like we need Antivirus - but for phone numbers? A database of bad phone numbers + and detection loaded on your phone. check www.numbercop.com They are trying to do exactly that.

[Ronny_aggr]

I was frustrated by the same but later on used available mobile security solutions in the market like of Smobile Systems security shield and it worked smooth.

[jeraymondjr]

You have to love it when a company like AT&T directs you to a site where you can subscribe to an additional service. Moreover, that service only allows you to block up to 15 numbers at a time. It's a handy service, of course. However, it's purpose is to allow parents to set limits on their kid's cell phone usage. The service is not meant to be a defense against spam messages. We're at the point now where phones are smart enough to allow this function natively. There are "unofficial" applications available. Of course, these apps are a threat to services AT&T can charge for on a monthly basis.

[ralfthedog]

"We're at the point now where phones are smart enough to allow this function natively. There are "unofficial" applications available. Of course, these apps are a threat to services AT&T can charge for on a monthly basis."

Can a phone refuse a text message? I would think that the billing takes place on the server level. If they send you a text message you will get billed for it.

Am I wrong?

[TheVanilaGorilla]

I also get pissed off when I receive SPAM Text message since I get charged 20 cents a message. I didn't want to deactivate text messaging since I occasionally do send a text message but I don't send nearly enough to sign up for text messaging. What gets me paranoid is if spammers will start sending text messages like spam emails...i.e. suddenly I have 500+ messages at 20 cents a pop. Yeah, I am sure my service would credit me, but it would be a hassle.

[troyrader]

I was getting 1 or 2 per day on all 3 home cell phones. Sprint offered to block all texts as we do not have a text plan and do not plan to any time soon. They also credited the most recent set of charges for the spam texts.

[Eddie-c]

How effective is this really going to be though given that SMS can be sent from any computer, spoof mobile numbers or simply bluejack? And with these "spam companies", e.g. the car warranty ones often using spoofed numbers it's going to be rather difficult for the end user to find the real number to then file a complaint??!

Re China & SMS, they recently passed a law limiting the number of SMS per day to something like 2000 ... so that's reaally going to slow things down eh? ;)

[EdCenter]

well why not call up the company (that is responsible for the SMS spam) and raise hell. The number in the article doesn't appear valid (I assume to protect CNet from defamation). But actual spam probably has real numbers that you can call and whale away at. Let me know if I'm wrong and if these SMS spams are sent for the sole purpose of ticking people off.

[Eddie-c]

Because the number that is shown is often an invalid number or does not accept calls. If you hit 1 (or whatever option) to be put through to a rep they will either hang up on you if you tell them to stop or will not provide any information about them, the company name, location etc etc etc.

I support 2000 people and have had quite a few come to me about these junk calls & spams and there is little that, realistically, can be done about it. Sure, the FCC recently "slapped" a couple of companies who were doing the car-warranty scam but they just pop back up and, if they're outside the US the FCC can't do a damn thing.

And yes, sometimes SMS spams can be deliberate just like e-bombs ... I had a VP who received >500 SMS in 1 hour.

[csetzer]

What might be more effective is to "wail" on the companies that are paying the spammers to spam, such as the aforementioned mortgage company.

[joeltom]

Thanks for nothing, Verizon. Always an extra charge to not get something you don't want....

[baggyguy1218]

I have T-Mobile and they will not deactivate SMS or Email to phone number. I have called and tried but they just tell me they have no system to accomplish that. I think its wrong that they will not deactivate SMS for customers that do not use it.

[Eddie-c]

Yet another of many reasons why T-Mobile is the cruddiest in the US.

[cayhorstmann]

If you have a T-Mobile flex plan, it's easy enough not to get text messages. They start you out with a $5 credit. Just let it run out and don't fill it up. No more text messages. Sure, T-Mobile sucks, but they all suck. At least with the flex plan, you don't have the indignity of being held hostage by a 2 year plan.

[redskins5926]

You can block SMS and emails to your phone on T-Mobile using the My T-Mobile feature of their website! Just login to My T-Mobile and go to change services. Under the SMS package options are the options to block all chargeable messages for free. You can do this for either all or particular lines for family plan users. I did this and it works great.

So no need to call customer service. I don't know how the CNET article missed this option above.

[baggyguy1218]

I have recently upgraded to the MyTouch and T-Mobile now has the ability to block All SMS to a specific number.

[jhacker]

Leave it up to Verizon to charge you to avoid charges on your bill. Yah, they want $5 per line to limit the number of text messages on my shared lines. I'm better off signing up for unlimited text messages, and they know that!! Verizon's service is great, but their costs are 'through the roof'!

[jscott418]

I just think its wrong to have to pay for a service to prevent something that you never ask for in the first place. It would be like the post office charging you postage for junk mail! I would rather that the cell phone companies allow you to create a blacklist of numbers to be blocked. After all why tie up their system with bogus messages all the time. Eventually they would just give up. I think this problem will just get worse as more people drop landline phones and switch to cell. The problem is cell phone numbers are now becoming more available to spammers because of this.

[happygolucky101lol]

Shame on Verizon for making us pay $5/month to block spam [as specified above], I formerly received spam calls almost one a week, until I registered on the Do Not Call. I am on AT&T, and I was the only person in my family receiving the calls.

[Doctor Who]

Agreed. I am not happy with the fact that Verizon wants to charge you something that they should offer, free, to customers. I would think offering it for free would be a real incentive to other potential customers.

[Been_there_Saw_it_before]

Where is big government when you need it?

Let the FTC, FBI, and NSA do the snooping and backtrack the spam to its source and then shutoff the few computers involved. Why must I endure 1000 spam messages a day?

[vapetlover]

I get at least 1-2 messages a week...............from my provider, AT&T!!!!!

[TomWeiss]

Although with Verizon usage controls can be used to block unwanted messages (among other useful things), this is not the only option. Spam controls, provided for free, will also accomplish this. See this URL for more information::

http://support.vzw.com/faqs/Features%20and%20Optional%20Services/spam_controls.html

[Doctor Who]

I wasn't aware of this, thank you for the link!

[Bemused51]

What makes it doubly aggravating is the practice of US telecoms of charging to both send and receive text messages, along with phone calls.

In most of the world, only the sender is charged

[SLIPPYSLOPE]

<things are worse in other countries like Europe where one a week is typical>
I thought that European mobile phone regulations are set so that the 'caller' pays charges to a mobile phone, the same as with land phones and to eliminate the mobile phone user from being charged for unsolicited calls. I have no idea if the regulations for text messages are similar but I was thought that the EU regulation on mobile phone usage was much better than the US (I'm not speaking of costs, merely the logic of who pays for usage - the caller or the called).

[Larry Adams]

Why should I have to pay to block SMS spam? I've been signed up on the DNC list for over a year and STILL get advertising calls and SMS spam on my cell phone. My carrier is not doing enough to block this garbage (that I have to pay to receive, no less). If we can block unwanted calls on landlines, why can't that technology be ported to wireless phones? Probably because the carriers don't want to give up that revenue from the spammers

[SLIPPYSLOPE]

Larry, and they know that 'you - the customer' won't make the call to customer service to have a 30¢ charge removed and they, therefore, get to keep the revenue. It's just a numbers game: one or two spam text messages per week times millions of mobile phone users adds up to a significant annual revenue. Our 'government' is supposed to 'protect' us but when you have huge telecommunications giants with huge lobbing budgets contributing to the re-election campaigns of our elected representatives who write the laws regulating the tel-co's, who do you think is going to come out on top, the user or the service provider? It's what you get when government gets into bed with giant corporations - 'We the People' lose out. How is your Stimulus Plan working out?

[B14ion]

$4.99 a month for Usage Controls?! Verizon found another way to charge people.

[pedal-pusher]

Luckily with Sprint, you can create a permissions list that only allows text messages from up to 50 numbers/sources that you submit. No charges, no fees. Just SPAM free messaging! You can find this at Sprint.com in the 'Digital Lounge' and Messaging.