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Killing Unwanted Text Messages from Yahoo! Alerts?

Posted by Cliff on from the dealing-with-phone-spam dept.

Creighti asks: "When I first got my new cellphone I immediately received several automated Text Message 'Alerts' from Yahoo and MSN which recurred on a daily basis. My guess was (is) that the previous owner of my cell phone number signed up for these things. Six months later I'm still getting unwanted text messages from Yahoo! Alerts. I managed to get rid of the MSN messages by signing up with MSN (gack), registering the phone number as mine, and de-selecting all text messages. I've tried the same trick with Yahoo. I've tried filling out the Yahoo! Help form that appeared to apply (interestingly enough, the Yahoo Help entry I've used several times to request they stop sending the unwanted alert appears to have been removed, but clicking the 'No' button on this page would work). I've even tried emailing abuse@yahoo.com. Anyone else getting text-message spammed by Yahoo! (or any other service)? Any suggestions for what I should do next to try and get Yahoo! to stop sending these unwanted messages?" Why aren't the text message preferences deleted when the cancellation notices comes thru?

9 of 388 comments (clear)

  1. Preferences by vondo · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Why aren't the text message preferences deleted when the cancellation notices comes thru?


    Just a guess, but probably what is registered is an e-mail address like 3215551212@sprintpcs.com which is how e-mail can find its way to SprintPCS phones. The service you sign up for may have no relation to your cell provider, so cancelling one doesn't cancel the other and then your phone number (and hence e-mail address) can be recycled.

  2. Putting an evil flip on the question... by frankie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...how easy is it to dick with people you don't like by registering their cell phone number with dozens of text alert sites? If these messages don't include a way to unsubscribe, they probably aren't confirmed opt-in either.

    1. Re:Putting an evil flip on the question... by dissy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What I did is setup a forward on my machine so page-@domain forwards to my SMS address.

      I only give out the page-name address to people.

      This way i have full control via procmail on the filtering of who can and cant send to it and have it forwarded.

      Granted someone smart can realize its my phone number @whatever.carier.com (easy to find out the email gateway too) but it stops most idiots that would only know to use what i give them.

      Its also nicer as if i change phones or numbers, the address for my 'pager' never changes.

      What would be really nice is for the SMS gateway to have a setting so mail addressed TO the 'correct' adderss was denied, but mail addressed to my page-name adderss is allowed.
      Then I have 100% control over who pages me.

      Its also nice to have copys CC'd to my real email, so i do have access to full headers, and can archive them not on the phone.

      Just my $0.02

  3. Re:Not to be a pain in the a**... by tomhudson · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Perhaps because:
    1. While the problem might be small now, it can only grow bigger in the future
    2. It's a slow newsday
    3. How often do you see yahoo-bashing on /.?
  4. Thats Yahoo. by dnoyeb · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That is complete BS but the same thing happened to me with email.

    This is the problem.

    1. Sign up for yahoo email.
    2. Register an alternate email address of someone you don't like.
    3. sign up the alternate address for all kinds of junk.

    Their is no way they can cancel it. Yahoo will do what they always do when you email them for help, flush it down the toilet, or threaten YOU for spamming them...

  5. Profit! by limekiller4 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is simple. And yes, I'm dead serious.

    1. Contact Yahoo through a reasonable contact (abuse@yahoo.com should be fine, though legal@ wouldn't hurt either), letting them know your efforts to remove your name using their controls.
    2. Inform them that you'll give them a 10-day grace period to correct this.
    3. Also inform them that you have a great new service of your own; proofreading!
    4. Also inform them that if they wish to continue sending you messages, you will be more than happy to proofread them and bill them at a rate of nnn.nn per message. Let them know that your offer is opt-in; if they wish to participate, they can simply send you another message.
    5. Let them know you bill on a net-30 basis.
    6. Find out the names and email contact points for their board of directors.
    7. Each time they opt-in by way of another message, bill them and cc their board of directors. Actually billing them is the crucial point but this can be accomplished fairly easily.
    8. Profit!

    Trust me. You won't be on that list for long. If you are, take a trip to your friendly neighborhood court and file for a small claims case. Then you're talking settlement.

    --
    My .02,
    Limekiller
    1. Re:Profit! by SirWhoopass · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'd love to believe this, but it sounds like this is an "opt-in" service that he can't get out of. You'd probably need to send them a registered letter first, indicating that you wish to opt-out of the service. If that is ignored, then you've got some documentation that you can take to court.

  6. I've done this by Andy+Muldowney · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A bank (Nation's Bank I think) called my cell phone one time. They claimed they "must have been given a wrong number" but the lady knew my name, so I wasn't buying it. I have no accounts with them, nor have I ever given out my cell to any companies. So I asked to speak with her manager. I happily told them that it was illegal to solicit to cell phones. They tried to feed me some more BS, so I asked for her manager. I finally got to someone decently high up, and they must have just been too busy to care, because they just said "send us a bill."

    So, I itemized the lost minutes, as well as about an hour's worth of lost wages (this was during work) and sent it off. Sure enough, about two weeks later I got a check in the mail.

    Needless to say, I didn't cash it...it makes a good story. Plus, my coworkers thought I was crazy when I was on the phone.

  7. Re:Why don't the messages stop? by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 3, Interesting
    However, YAHOO and MSN do get notifications when email addresses become invalid. MSN, so far, has been good about removing them.

    YAHOO, on the other hand, has consistantly bounced attempts to notify them that they are using invalid addresses for spam when sent to their "errors to" address, and so they continue to send spam to addresses that no longer exist. In fact, they continue to send spam to addresses that never existed in the first place!

    I suspect the only way to stop it is going to involve the legal system and court-ordered cash settlements... Or, an article in the Wall Street Journal about them, just before some important SEC filing!