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SMS Spam Fight
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The_Unbeliever
Honorary Master
Good to hear they're taking steps to nip spam in the bud.
If it remains tightly controlled, we won't have a spam problem on our cellphones, save for the odd one or two spam SMS which escaped detection.
Yes, give the consumers more options and tools to report and fight back at spam. If all the consumers stand up and fight, then we can keep our cellphones spam free.
Nothing is as irritating as the single, lone spam SMS coming in via the wee-wee hours of the morning - or your kid "subscribing" yourself to a "cool" gaming service - for R10.00 a day, and from which you won't be able to unsubscribe that easily...
If it remains tightly controlled, we won't have a spam problem on our cellphones, save for the odd one or two spam SMS which escaped detection.
Yes, give the consumers more options and tools to report and fight back at spam. If all the consumers stand up and fight, then we can keep our cellphones spam free.
Nothing is as irritating as the single, lone spam SMS coming in via the wee-wee hours of the morning - or your kid "subscribing" yourself to a "cool" gaming service - for R10.00 a day, and from which you won't be able to unsubscribe that easily...
Bismuth
Expert Member
This is indeed what needs to be controlled. I was watching a movie on Etv last night, and they advertised at least one of these services during each ad break.
It will be interesting to see how they will collect details for existing simcards.
B
Necuno
Court Jester
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I just report each one- that made them stopped.
what is more annoying is those damned please call me's; i wish i could deny those or at least report the idiot who keeps on please call me without realizing that i'm not the person he/she wants to be called by.
what is more annoying is those damned please call me's; i wish i could deny those or at least report the idiot who keeps on please call me without realizing that i'm not the person he/she wants to be called by.
SMS, phone, e-mail, fax, threats of legal action - nothing worked in my own capacity. Then I called the in the Big Guns: With the assistance of Always Active Technologies, Vodacom -- and a WAPSA correspondent helping me, I recently won a long (6-month) hard fought battle against HomeMark to get off their lists. Eventually obtaining letters of apologies from HM, AAT & Vodacom. Luckily the battle was sorted out before official complaints were lodged with WASPA and ISPA.
Lesson 1&2 learned: do not loan your phone to anyone, even a so-called friend... then when you do get your phone back, NEVER respond to any HomeMark smses -
Lesson 3 learned: you can not even use the reply "stop" action on the HM sms-system because that does not work ... contact AAT directly and get their assistance to get off the HM spam list.
Contact Always Active Technologies: [email protected]
or go direct to HomeMark Customer Services Manager: Julie Swartz - [email protected] (because sms, fax, tel and other dept. e-mails eg [email protected] get nowhere...)
Lesson 1&2 learned: do not loan your phone to anyone, even a so-called friend... then when you do get your phone back, NEVER respond to any HomeMark smses -
Lesson 3 learned: you can not even use the reply "stop" action on the HM sms-system because that does not work ... contact AAT directly and get their assistance to get off the HM spam list.
Contact Always Active Technologies: [email protected]
or go direct to HomeMark Customer Services Manager: Julie Swartz - [email protected] (because sms, fax, tel and other dept. e-mails eg [email protected] get nowhere...)
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These don't work ... if they did, why do we still have a spam problem !!!
Because we don't have global opt-out lists. The cellphone companies refuse to implement them.
If they did the problem would be solved.
There is the Direct Marketing Association's Do Not Contact Me database (http://www.facilities.co.za/dma/dnc.aspx) - if you are on that list no company who is a member of DMA is allowed to solicit you in any way or form whatsoever ... but that does not apply to those who are NOT members.
As far as I am aware this is the closest we have to a global list in SA, but it still does not work as intended.
How can you say that a global opt-out list doesn't work, when there is no global opt-out list?
I want to go to my cell providers website, enter my cellphone number into the opt-out list and if anyone sends me SMS spam then the providers will block the SIM card that sent the message.
Parents should be able to enter their child's number into the same list to prevent them from being able to subscribe to subscription services.
That's how a global opt-out list work, and it would stop SMS spam and unwanted subscriptions. Easy!
They only reason they're not doing it, is because they're a bunch of greedy bastards and they're getting revenue from all that spam that gets sent out.
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SIM cards are too cheap to replace. At around R2 per SIM card, it's not going to solve the problem, we just create another problem: When that SIM card is marked as spammer, it's disposed of and replaced. Then when spammer SIM card is not used within a certain period of time, the cell companies recycle the number ... then some poor sod later gets the number and is labeled a spammer even before he's made his first call, and web-based services etc still have that number historically listed as bad.
I agree, we need an effective central database that will regulate and control who can send and who can receive, but the problem with having a central service is it is prone to abuse. This is what the WASPA tries to do, but they can only execute measures over entities in their jurisdiction, (and they do very good work, but it's still not a perfect set-up.)
But what to do about those NOT within the WASPA sphere of control?
Which is the same reason they will not do anything about the drunk idiot who consistently sends a "please call me" at 2:30 am every freeking morning ... they get paid to put bloody ads into that spam that wakes me up !!!
-- deep breaths -- count to ten -- deep breaths -- feel the tension drain from your body as much as the life drains from the body of the person whose throat you're strangling ... hehehehehe.
At the very least they should allow me to block my number from ever being subscribed to a WAP service or from receiving paid for content.
I will never subscribe to a service or download ringtones, etc. And it worries me that it's possible for someone to pick up my phone while I'm not looking and send an SMS to subscribe me to some R50 per week service without me knowing.
I want to be able to enter my number into a global opt-out database and know that I will never be able so request any paid for content. I worries me that some WASP is suddently going to start sending me some content and claim that I sent an SMS from my phone to subscribe.
If there was a global opt-out list at then they couldn't claim that I had suscribed because it would have been impossible for me to subscribe.
I will never subscribe to a service or download ringtones, etc. And it worries me that it's possible for someone to pick up my phone while I'm not looking and send an SMS to subscribe me to some R50 per week service without me knowing.
I want to be able to enter my number into a global opt-out database and know that I will never be able so request any paid for content. I worries me that some WASP is suddently going to start sending me some content and claim that I sent an SMS from my phone to subscribe.
If there was a global opt-out list at then they couldn't claim that I had suscribed because it would have been impossible for me to subscribe.
opt out lists
I assume you would still want to receive SMS messages from your friends and only block SPAM?
How will the mobile operator distinguish between a spam SMS and a normal SMS? It is not possible to distinguish spam based on content. The mobile operator also does not know who you are actively doing business with or communicating with?
They can also not distinguish spam based on the originating number of the SMS. Most spam comes from normal SIMs, which is no different to SMS's sent by your friends.
Opt out lists only work for SMS's sent from registered direct marketing companies. This service already exists. Most commercial SMS messages are not sent by direct marketing companies, but are sent by businesses directly. SMS messaging by businesses is used to a large degree for communication purposes, and not only for promotional purposes. For instance, many businesses use SMS instead of leaving a voicemail.
This is a good suggestion and will work because it is technically possible to stop ALL subscription billings to a particular number.
I assume you would still want to receive SMS messages from your friends and only block SPAM?
How will the mobile operator distinguish between a spam SMS and a normal SMS? It is not possible to distinguish spam based on content. The mobile operator also does not know who you are actively doing business with or communicating with?
They can also not distinguish spam based on the originating number of the SMS. Most spam comes from normal SIMs, which is no different to SMS's sent by your friends.
Opt out lists only work for SMS's sent from registered direct marketing companies. This service already exists. Most commercial SMS messages are not sent by direct marketing companies, but are sent by businesses directly. SMS messaging by businesses is used to a large degree for communication purposes, and not only for promotional purposes. For instance, many businesses use SMS instead of leaving a voicemail.
This is a good suggestion and will work because it is technically possible to stop ALL subscription billings to a particular number.
They won't know, but I will. I will contanct them and tell them that on this day at this time I received a spam SMS from this number. If they get a certain number of complains about the same number, they block it.
It's not the same a spam filtering for email 'cause all sms's are recorded by the provider, they have a record of the sender and the receiver.
I think most companies would respect a global opt-out list if it were available. Most of the SMS spam I receive is from companies I have done business with (Budget Insurance, I'm pointing at you
). As soon as they have your cell phone number they automatically start spamming you, if there was a global opt-out list this would be prevented.
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Other Pineapple Smurf
Honorary Master
Depending on your nertwork you have different options. Currently each network has its requirements for content based subscription services and spam.
WASPA has gone a long way to help consumers, its just consumers are not educated on how the system works.
(I know as I develop and maintain our companies unsubscribe call centre and we are one of the larger WASPs).
WASPA has gone a long way to help consumers, its just consumers are not educated on how the system works.
(I know as I develop and maintain our companies unsubscribe call centre and we are one of the larger WASPs).
RoganDawes
Expert Member
The one thing that differs from the email spam problem is that there are a very few choke points where the SMSes can be inspected. That is, there are three service providers with a limited number of SMS processing devices, all under the control of one of three service providers. Meaning that each SP can do analysis on the messages passing through, keeping in mind that since they are only 160 characters, there is a limited amount of trickery that the spammers can attempt to avoid detection, and still get their message across.
The simplest thing would be to put a threshhold on the number of identical messages that may be sent before any matching messages would just be rejected, regardless of the recipient. After that, we get into the realm of spam analysis, which is fairly well understood in the more complicated SMTP arena.
Granted, volumes on the SMSC's probably are not conducive to analysis. But if enough customers complain, the SPs (who are COINING it from the WAY overpriced SMSes anyway) will have to put some money into their infrastructure to cope. I'd accept bypassing of filtering for events such as Christmas and New Year, so they don't have to have full filtering capacity for their peaks, but for the rest of the time, I'd expect that it is not so difficult to do what I'm suggesting here.
Vodacom3G: Care to pass this on to the powers that be?
SPAM from SIM farms
Part of the problem is the low cost of sending from SIM farms.
WASPs sending SMS messages have direct connections to all three networks, pay R 6000+ per month for this, and on average 20c per SMS. In addition they have to comply to the WASPA code, and this is strictly enforced. WASPs are forced to send messages via the home network ie messages to Vodacom phones are sent via the Vodacom network.
Companies running SIM farms can undercut the per message cost by up to 3c / sms, they don't pay the R6000/m connection fee, and do not have to comply to the WASPA code (unless they do this voluntarily). They can also send all messages from SIMs on one network.
Complaints about spam from SIMs are largely ignored by operators.
One solution is to increase the price of sending from individual SIMs. It is only cheaper because there are no interconnect charges for SMS. The mobile operator to which the SIM belongs can essentially send unlimited messages to the other operators without paying them a cent.
Part of the problem is the low cost of sending from SIM farms.
WASPs sending SMS messages have direct connections to all three networks, pay R 6000+ per month for this, and on average 20c per SMS. In addition they have to comply to the WASPA code, and this is strictly enforced. WASPs are forced to send messages via the home network ie messages to Vodacom phones are sent via the Vodacom network.
Companies running SIM farms can undercut the per message cost by up to 3c / sms, they don't pay the R6000/m connection fee, and do not have to comply to the WASPA code (unless they do this voluntarily). They can also send all messages from SIMs on one network.
Complaints about spam from SIMs are largely ignored by operators.
One solution is to increase the price of sending from individual SIMs. It is only cheaper because there are no interconnect charges for SMS. The mobile operator to which the SIM belongs can essentially send unlimited messages to the other operators without paying them a cent.
You will know it is spam, but it will only apply to that particular business sending.
If you contact WASPA and tell them that on this day and time your received a spam SMS from a particular company, both the WASP and the business sending are obliged to prevent you from receiving another from that company.
If you receive another sms from the same company, lay another complaint, insist that it is dealt with as a FORMAL complaint. At this point the WASP is likely to get fined as they had an obligation to block the particular client from messaging you.
WASPA will also send an advisory to all clients, should a business continue to spam. There are a list of blacklisted companies that WASPs are not allowed to serve.
The problems is that the business sending can ultimately bypass the system by sending from individual SIM farms.
I think most companies would respect a global opt-out list if it were available. Most of the SMS spam I receive is from companies I have done business with (Budget Insurance, I'm pointing at you
Unfortunately most companies do not put sufficient effort into managing there databases. Opt out requests are often ignored. They are unlikely to check a global list. WASPA is the only organisation that actively acts on SPAM complaints, and their jurisdiction is limited to their own members.
Forcing the large insurance companies and other corporates to become members of WASPA will help though.