Summary
With email filtering systems becoming more effective, spammers are now turning to mobile text messages to get their messages out. This has effectively doubled the number of spam messages from 18% of traffic to 43%. Unfortunately, spam blockers for text messaging software are not as effective as email filters. Even worse, cell phone customers have to pay for the spam text messages they receive.
Original source:
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60404039
Details
Spam accounts for close to half of all text messages sent to cell phones, a percentage that has more than doubled in just one year, said a text messaging provider Monday.
According to Wireless Services, which claims to manage 15 to 20 percent of all text message traffic for U.S. wireless carriers, 43 percent of all text is now spam.
A year ago, said Wireless Services, that rate was just 18 percent.
In December 2004 alone, added the Bellevue, Wash.-based firm, 1.2 million spam text messages were blocked by the company.
Wireless Services attributes the surge to smarter and more sophisticated spammers who are moving beyond the traditional venue of e-mail.
"While they initially sent messages to mobile phones via the Internet, they are now savvy enough about wireless networks to foil anti-spam technologies developed with e-mail in mind," said Rich Begert, the chief executive of Wireless Services, in a statement.
The economics of cell phones -- and thus the spam they receive -- is quite different from e-mail, Begert noted.
"With mobile spam, consumers have to pay for the delivery of annoying, unwanted messages to their personal phone," he said as he made a pitch for his company's services.
"Unless carriers get in front of the issue, they could see increased churn, unwanted legislation, and certainly, a rise in customer service calls," Begert said.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Tuesday, March 08, 2005
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