SmsSpam
Latest
GSMA and Cloudmark cooking up an SMS spam reporting system
If you get just five spam text messages a day then consider yourselves lucky, as a Chinese mobile user could easily amass at least 30 messages daily, according to Cloudmark. Fortunately, said company has been working with GSMA and various network operators on building an SMS spam reporting system, which should help drastically reduce worldwide cellphone spam. The idea is rather simple: in a multi-country trial that ended last December, participants from AT&T, Bell Mobility, SFR, Sprint, Vodafone, Korea Telecom, and the Korean Internet & Security Agency forwarded suspect spam to "7726," which is short code for "spam." Cloudmark's cloud-based system would then be able to identify and block these messages in the future, be it scams, linkbaits, or just ads from perverse companies. While this sounds like a perfect solution, it's not entirely clear how much this service would cost the operators, but hey, it's never too early to start a petition if you need it that badly.
Teacher learns a lesson: don't SMS for pot
Note to self: don't ever send an email or text message that you would not want to defend in court. Apparently, that imaginary legal and mental procedure was lost on an Oklahoma resident last year and now a Kentucky middle school teacher has similarly mis-texted. Ann Greenfield, 34, wanted to get her paws on some Mary Jane but sent a text message not to her dealer -- but to a Kentucky state trooper by accident. A mass o' cops was waiting for her when when arrived to meet up with her "dealer." We suspect this middle school teacher will probably set up a phone contact in her cellphone next time to avoid a rather embarrassing mistake -- or maybe she'll ditch the habit entirely.[Via Gearlog]
Verizon Wireless wins suit against SMS spammer
In the fight against text message spam, Verizon Wireless just struck a decent blow to a pretty hardcore SMS spammer. The CDMA carrier won a judgment against Specialized Programming and Marketing LLC (what a cheeky name, eh!) and the company's owner, Charles Henderson. "Specialized Marketing" is nor prohibited from sending unsolicited text messages to Verizon Wireless subscribers in any form after the company apparently sent 100,000 SMS spam messages offering a vacation package. The suit requires the company to also pay Verizon in excess of over $200,000 as damages. We say give that money back to the subscribers who had to put up with the extra-lame spam text messages. Whaddaya say, Verizon?
