SMS [SPAM received] on 3g Contract

[stix]

In the last week i have recieved about 50 - 60 sms a day on my 3g account.

1 - i don't even know what the number is - so who sold my details ?
2 - Most come through as blank
3 - Or unknown SMS type

Anyone else experiencing this emmensley annoying problem ?

 

[web]

No although there seems to be leaving messages on my voicemail, and iam not going to pull the sim out, but no no sms on my side.

 

[vodacom3g]

In the last week i have recieved about 50 - 60 sms a day on my 3g account.

1 - i don't even know what the number is - so who sold my details ?
2 - Most come through as blank
3 - Or unknown SMS type

Anyone else experiencing this emmensley annoying problem ?

What datacard do you have?

If you want, PM me your data card number and a more detailed description of what happens, with your contact details and I can have it checked out.

SMS your normal number from the 3G dashboard to get your datacard number.

 

[stix]

3g - apologies for delay in getting back here - i do not have machine with me - will post tomorrow - the response is much appreciated

 

[chiskop]

3G SMS Spam

I'm getting soo much SMS and MMS spam on my 3G datacard. I seem to remember this being discussed here before but couldn't find it on search.

Is there a way to whitelist incoming SMSs, or alternatively turn off the SMS functionality?

Only two people in this world know my 3G number, me and vodacom - and I've not given it out to anyone else.

 

[vodacom3g]

I think you received an MMS and it ends up being displayed as garbled SMS's.

It's a 'known' problem' on the Huawei. It does not understand how to handle an MMS, so tries to handle it as a SMS.

 

[chiskop]

I'm also getting dozens of smss daily on my Hauwei card. About a third come through as genuine (readable) spam, and the rest as garbled nonsense.

Is there any way to either black/whitelist sms senders. I'm not really interested in receiving smss on my datacard, except for Vodacom service announcements (and to be honest, even those I can live without)?

 

[stix]

Agreed Chriskop - its actually starting to bug me - i had the same problem with the option card.

V3g - the answer of somebody sending MMS is fine but this number i am currently using only cam online last Monday - and i certainly haven't provided it to anyone nor subscribed it from any service - so where are my details being accessed ? Any idea ?

 

[stix]

Sorry to bring this up again - but i would really like to know if anyone else is getting SMS all day - Call me backs, Staus reports that started arriving the day i started using my datacard - no-one should have the number but me !

 

[chiskop]

Looks like its just you and me.

I get so much crap on that thing that it is unusable for genuine SMSes. I thought I'd clean out the in box once, but you can't select multiple smses so you have to open and delete each one individually. I managed a couple of dozen before I got bored. There still possibly 100s in there.

 

[ic]

My guess is that you were assigned a recycled cellery number - probably the previous owner of that number gave it out to the entire world or was involved in a Guinness World Record to see how many spam smses could be received on a single cellery number...

PS: If you want to clear all smses on the sim card [although I wouldn't bother], put the data card sim card into a cellery phone & delete all the smses using the phone - most cellery phones should have a delete all menu option...

 

[Nokkie]

i think you can set your vodamail software to allow you a certain amount of messages

 

[Edinetz]

I've noticed Vodacom Customer Care messages come through as unknown SMS Type on my option card a while ago.

 

[pre-g-user]

I get them sometimes but not all day like you. I have been getting SMS spam on my 3G card since I got it and that's going back about 15 months now. Normally it's about 5-10 a month. Hope you get it stopped on your side.

 

[Skeptik]

The only way these rogue SMSs will stop is when the government makes a law that prevents companies having access to the Vodacom/MTN (and all the rest) subscriber databases.

The idea that you inherited the number and all the spam that comes with it is not a reasonable excuse as far as I am concerned. In fact, what's to stop them just using a sequence of numbers, starting from 072...? It doesn't cost them a great deal to do.

The spammers should get specific permission from you to forward any messages. This permission should automatically expire after, say, 3 months. Should anyone get spam, they should be able to track each instance back to a national database to see who authorised its transmission. If they transgress, a fine should be levied for each instance of R1000. That way the scourge of mobile phone spam would disappear overnight.

The existing system does not work. I've tried all the moves and still it comes.

 

[rehd]

Looks like its just you and me.

I get so much crap on that thing that it is unusable for genuine SMSes. I thought I'd clean out the in box once, but you can't select multiple smses so you have to open and delete each one individually. I managed a couple of dozen before I got bored. There still possibly 100s in there.

No I have been recieving about 3 mms's a day at all times of the day and evening, all about replica rolex watches to software for PC's or even viagra and other medicine, seems the spamers are using the cell number @mms.vodacom4me.co.za so looks like they go through the whole number database and just send out emails. bloody irratating at 8 in the evening or at midnight..

Bring back the death penatly...for these spamers...

 

[ic]

No I have been recieving about 3 mms's a day at all times of the day and evening, all about replica rolex watches to software for PC's or even viagra and other medicine, seems the spamers are using the cell number @mms.vodacom4me.co.za so looks like they go through the whole number database and just send out emails. bloody irratating at 8 in the evening or at midnight..

Bring back the death penatly...for these spamers...

@v3g, can you investigate this, and have this kind of spamming activity blocked, or blocked in a better way?

 

[pre-g-user]

The only way these rogue SMSs will stop is when the government makes a law that prevents companies having access to the Vodacom/MTN (and all the rest) subscriber databases.

The idea that you inherited the number and all the spam that comes with it is not a reasonable excuse as far as I am concerned. In fact, what's to stop them just using a sequence of numbers, starting from 072...? It doesn't cost them a great deal to do.

The spammers should get specific permission from you to forward any messages. This permission should automatically expire after, say, 3 months. Should anyone get spam, they should be able to track each instance back to a national database to see who authorised its transmission. If they transgress, a fine should be levied for each instance of R1000. That way the scourge of mobile phone spam would disappear overnight.

The existing system does not work. I've tried all the moves and still it comes.

Just like e-mail spam, sms and mms spam is probably here to stay. The spammers do indeed use scripts that send to random numbers. It sure would be a great world not to have spam anymore but it's just a dream.

Think about it, every time you go to your postbox it's full of paper-spam, you get home and there is spam attached to your gate, you find spam on your car windscreen every time you go shopping, every time you open your email it has some spam (despite all the smart filterting systems out there) and of course at least once or twice a month you will get an SMS or MMS spam. The spam filtering systems also cause many problems with legitimate mails.

12 years of running servers and fighting spam and it does not seem to have stopped any spammers. Sure we have reduced spam as most ISP's have but no single ISP in the world has put an end to it (although, granted a few big-time spammers have been nailed and locked up and rightly so) and sadly with so many places for the spammers to hide I doubt we will ever see an end to it.

A fining system is a nice idea but R1000 is far too lenient. It should be 100 times that and if you cannot pay you should sit in a nice metal cage and have time to think about how you are next going to market your company

 

[vodacom3g]

Please report all of these spams to abuse@vodacom.co.za (it's fixed, before anyone asks!) and try and include as much detail as possible. I'm also on the list and will track it.

 

[chiskop]

seems the spamers are using the cell number @mms.vodacom4me.co.za so looks like they go through the whole number database and just send out emails. bloody irratating at 8 in the evening or at midnight..

Bring back the death penatly...for these spamers...

I don't know about that (the database part, not the death penalty part).

It is only my datacard that is getting this abuse, the number is a secret known only to me and Vodacom.

But we have two other (Vodacom) cellphones that are used for business, the numbers are given out frequently and pretty much indiscriminately - and yet if they recieve 1 spam a month thats a lot.

V3g - just saw your note - thanks- will do that