Verizon files suit over cell phone spam

Charges a Florida company with sending thousands of unsolicited text messages to its customers.

The story "Verizon files suit over cell phone spam" published November 23, 2005 at 1:03 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[thenet411]

Send those idiots to the showers

SPAM is one thing, but actually charging people to hear their crap is absolutely unacceptable. That is akin to those commercials before movies. I did not pay for my ticket to see a movie just to be forced to sit in front of advertisements. I also do not pay my cell phone bill to get ads from idiots.

[rhett121]

HIPOCRITS!!!

My family has been using Verizon wireless for the past couple of years and just last month myself AND my father both received SPAM text messages from VERIZON themselves!!! The sent about 3 or 4 messages over the course of a couple of days asking to play a trivia game for a chance to win a TV. Not only was this disgusting but we had to PAY to receive the text messages and then had to pay to opt-out of future listings. All in all it took 4 text messages sent by us to get them to stop sending these. Not that it's a lot of money but the principal involved is important. We don't text message anyone EVER. Never have, never plan on it, and yet Verizon has forced us to spend more money just to opt out of their SPAM. It disgusted us so much the whole family is switching carriers this month.

[neilparks]

No text msgs for me

Alltel switched its text msg policy a couple of months ago. Where the first 10 or so used to be free, with a per msg charge kicking in only after that, now the per msg charge applies to all text msgs received.

As soon as Alltel announced that change, I submitted a request to tech support asking them to disable text messaging on my line so that I will never receive any. Alltel complied, at no cost to me.

[neilparks]

Cell phone spam

Many cell phones can receive text msgs sent as emails to an address in a format of "[e-mail]". No special SMS software or service is required.

I have been toying with the idea of generating a large list of such addresses and posting them to the web and/or Usenet where they will be harvested by spammers.

That would draw irate cell users who have to pay a fee for each text msg received into the fight against spam. Maybe then a serious solution would emerge.