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160characters.org: TWO BILLION UK SPAM TXTS ?
22nd September 2003
Submitted by Mike Grenville on Mon, 22 Sep 2003 09:54
The annual number of "spam" text messages
sent to mobile phone users in Britain has doubled in the last two years
to two billion claims a report in the Sunday Mirror. But are 1 in 10 of
our messages really spam?
The total number of Person to Person SMS so far this
year to July took the cumulative total for 2003 to 11.6 Billion, against
a 12 month Mobile Data Association (MDA) forecast for the year of 20
Billion. "While SPAM is certainly on the rise, it seems unlikely
that it has reached 10% in the UK" said Mike Grenville. While there
are no official figures, Mike Short, Chairman of the MDA agrees,
"My best guess would be 80,000 spam messages for this year" of
the 20 billion, "with 70% of them coming from sources outside the
UK" he added.
In Japan estimates put 95-98% of all email traffic
across the i-mode servers to be spam. "We are never going reach
Japanes levels of spam here because the situation is completely
different" said Mike Grenville, from 160 Characters. Two key
factors have led to these levels of spam in Japan: firstly the sender
does not pay so the cost is the same as email and secondly the address
structure made it simple for spammers to work our your phone address.
What is of more concern in the UK is the rise in
SCAMS as opposed to SPAM. The Independent Committee for the Supervision
of Standards of Telephone Information Services, which oversees premium
rate calls, has received 5,200 complaints so far this year compared with
1,200 for the whole of 2002. So if we really are getting such a volume
of unwelcome messages, one might of expected the number of complaints to
be much higher.
Services such as Grumbletext
enable users to send in the types spam and scam messages they receive
and receive advice on what action to take next. "The missing link
is consumer education" said Helen Keegan, Beep Marketing MD "-
unless consumers are educated to recognise the messages and take the
action to report them then no change will take place and the scammers
will continue."
Other problems are consumer perception and apathy.
Many people forget that they have actually agreed to receive marketing
messages as part of receiving another service or ignore the instructions
to unsubscribe but continue to complain that they are receiving spam.
One also needs to draw a distinction between
unwelcome marketing messages and operational messages from operators.
For example, when you travel abroad the operator will typically send a
welcome message in your own language advising you of how to receive your
voice mail and other services that may be available to you. Some people
see these messages as welcome and useful information while other perhaps
more frequent travellers, resent them.
New EU regulations will add to the ways that spammers
can be prosecuted, although ICSTIS already has wide ranging powers to
fine sacmmers and prevent funds reaching them. Unlike the Information
Commissioner who has responsibility for SPAM, ICSTIS has shown that it
is ready and willing to use its powers proactively.
The next few months will see the debate hotting up
with European Union measures due to take effect here next month obliging
companies to obtain the permission of phone and internet users before
sending them a message.
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