Hmm. Interesting debate. What you describe is not spam, it's much worse than
that - it is a SCAM. There is a big difference. A scam is where someone
sends you a message(probably just making your mobile number up using a
random number generator) and then tries to dupe you into calling a premium
rate telephone number or getting you to send premium rate SMS.
And yes, it is a problem. In the UK, we do have a regulatory body (ICSTIS)
that fines people who run that kind of activity. The difference with mobile
though is that the mobile audit trail is easier to follow than the internet
which means you can find the culprits and deal with them accordingly. In the
UK, they can be fined up to UKP100,000. In some countries, it is a criminal
offence to run this kind of activity.
Spam is a different thing entirely. It simply means a text message sent
without permission. It should not be used and I disagree with it entirely.
The main companies using spam in the UK are the network operators who
believe that because you use one of their mobile phones they have the right
to send you text messages regardless of whether or not you have given
express permission.
That said, in my opinion, spam is in the eye of the beholder. By that, I
mean that if the receiver of the message thinks they have received spam,
then it is spam. It is very likely that the customer even gave permission at
some point to send them text messages, but if they have forgotten, and the
SMS is unwanted, then in the eyes of the customer, it is spam.
With regard to the new EU directive, it will have some effect, but lawyers
are currently very busy defining the word 'permission' as it means different
things to different people! And hopefully, we will see much less SMS spam in
the future.
I hope this helps explain the differences.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Helen Keegan
BeepMarketing Ltd
t: 0870 770 7153
www.beepmarketing.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arjen van Blokland" <ab@tkk.att.ne.jp>
To: <keitai-l@appelsiini.net>
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2003 12:31 PM
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: SMS and URLs
>
>Mhm, now you confused me...why you add SPAM into the mix?
>SMS (the technology itself) has not really a SPAM problem, because it
>costs the sender to send out messages. Email has a SPAM problem,
>because it doesn't cost the sender to send messages.
Hmmm, SMS has really a spam problem.
Large SMS accounts of carriers are misused by the middlemen sending unasked
SMSes to customers. If you reply to it, you get sometimes (depending on the
application) charged for 2-3 EURO. There was a spam last year in Western
Europe. People received an SMS saying that a friend would like to meet you.
To find out the name of the friend you had to reply and you got charged.
This was not mentioned in the first SMS. This is even much worser than
Email spam. The EU made regulations for it. Holland will have adapted these
regulations by Oct 31 this year. So, it hopefully will fade away by the end
of the year.
Arjen van Blokland
104.com
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Received on Fri May 9 16:51:23 2003