SMS Spam Fight
SMS spam is a big irritation for many cellphone users in South Africa, and despite the inroads made in spam prevention by the Wireless Access Service Providers Association (WASPA), the spammers have proven to be wily foes, adapting to the stricter regulations, by simply changing tactics.
WASPA actively addresses the issue of SMS spam from its member WASPs, slapping them with fines of up to R 100 000 if found guilty of sending unsolicited SMS messages through their system.
This hard line on spam from WASPA has seen a decline in SMS spam from its members. According to a commentator close to WASPA the number of complaints about SMS spam from WASPs has reduced significantly over the last couple of years.
This, according to the source, is a result of heavy penalties imposed on WASPs if found guilty of SMS spam. “The heavy penalties are so successful that WASPs are now ‘terrified’ of sending any SMSs over their network which may qualify as spam,” he said.
The active policing of WASPs have however not solved the SMS problem, but rather forced rogue SMS spammers to change tactics. Instead of using a WASP to send SMS spam on their behalf, companies are now building SIM farms from which the SMS messages are sent directly.
As WASPA only has jurisdiction in the WASP space, and actually only over WASPA members, this new method of spam falls well outside its area of governance.
The only organizations which can effectively step in to prevent this new SMS distribution method seems to be the mobile providers themselves, but there does not appear to be clear guidelines governing actions against a company which uses multiple SIMs to send SMSs to a database of mobile numbers.
Mobile networks give their view
Local mobile providers seem well aware of this problem and are considering their options in addressing SMS spam and giving consumers more control.
Cell C’s Acting Chief Operating Officer, Steve Boiles, advised consumers to report SMS SPAM via the WASPA (http://www.waspa.org.za/code/complaint.shtml) or SMS CODE website (http://www.smscode.co.za/).
This route was also recommended by Bridget Bhengu, Senior Manager for PR and Communication of MTN SA, adding that recipients of spam can reply with the word “stop” to the SMS sender, and if the spam then persists the WASPA complaint option is a suitable route to follow. Bhengu added that consumers can also report spam offenders to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association of SA: http://www.dmasa.org ).
Bhengu however said that in many cases consumers subscribe to receive messages or subscribe to download ringtones and wallpapers without realizing that that they have also subscribed to a weekly or monthly subscription club.
“The onus is on consumers to ensure that they understand the costs involved in such services and to acquaint themselves with the rules and regulations of mobile advertising. It is up to the consumer to report WASPs and content providers that offer misleading services directly to WASPA,” said Bhengu.
This is echoed by Vodacom’s Dot Field, saying that the best advice she can give consumers is to delete these SMSs. “Should consumers continue to receive unsolicited SMSs, they can report it to WASPA,” added Field.
“Unsolicited SMSs can be sent from various mechanisms including cellphones, the Internet or Bulk SMS. Vodacom will only be aware of SMS spam which originated from a WASP making use of our Bulk SMS service. The blocking of unsolicited SMSs is therefore limited to known Bulk SMS sources,” said Field.
Cell C said that it also investigates any matters relating to SMS SPAM which are brought to their attention by their clients. The provider is also taking pro-active measures to address the issue.
“Cell C has recently installed an SMS Firewall in the network to address SMS MO Spam. This is SMS traffic that enters the Cell C network as though sent by a Cell C subscriber roaming on another network but which in fact is generated by a spamming source to look like a valid SMS. By verifying the subscriber ID contained with the SMS message and the originating location we are able to filter out these bogus messages,” said Boiles.
“Phase2 of this project will be completed this year and will focus specifically on SMS MT Spam which have the attributes of an SMS sent by another network’s subscriber,” concluded Boiles.
How to fight SMS spam – give your views
Loading ...