Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the step-in-the-right-direction dept.
mickers writes "news.com.au reports that in Australia, phone companies which allow SMS spam to be sent across their networks face fines of up to A$10 million under a new industry code.." Are people having a huge problem with SMS spam yet, or is this sort of action more pre-emptive?
This is nice and all...
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
...but why not instead take the action of banning the spammers and punishing them as well? Basically, put it in the contract when you let someone use your network that if they send spam, they'll face nasty fines and be subject to litigation?
Re:This is nice and all...
by
dhuv
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Most of the spam comes from countries where that law cannot/wouldnot reach.
SMS Spam from my provider
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
The worst SMS spam that I get is actually from my telephone (wireless) provider.
Every so often, they send me a message telling me about their cheap rates and how I could be working more efficiently by using SMS:)
Re:SMS Spam from my provider
by
KDan
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
The worst in europe is the way some networks message you to let you know that you're going through one network or another (as they all interoperate). So you're driving on the highway at 120+km/h, and you suddenly get your phone beeping to let you know... that you're welcome to SFR/Orange/Vodafone/etc. They should be sued because that is probably a cause for accidents.
Daniel
-- Carpe Diem
Re:SMS Spam from my provider
by
Stuart+Gibson
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
If your phone beeping is a probable cause for an accident you either shouldn't be driving or shouldn't have a phone, maybe even both.
What's the next plan - suing ice cream vans, or fire services because of the distracting noise?
Goblin
-- It's all fun and games until a 200' robot dinosaur shows up and trashes Neo-Tokyo... Again
Right on...
by
jdreed1024
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Are people
having a huge problem with SMS spam yet, or is this sort of action more pre-emptive?
Who cares? It's still a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it seems that in today's society we often have to wait until something is already a serious problem before doing anything about it. Yay Australia for taking this step.
-- There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
This only applies to telco tho.
by
Soahc
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
If i read it correctly. This only applies to the telco's who take a list and do mass dump of sms's onto the network. Pople like blueskyfrog who spam anyone with a phone won't be hit by this because they do their own sms, and arn't a telco.
Not too bad... Yet
by
xYoni69x
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Here in Israel, I get SMS spam at a rate of about 1-2 messages per week. I don't know how it is in Australia, but at least here it isn't terribly annoying (yet).
However, I noted that I couldn't find any way to "opt out", which probably makes it illegal. But since I'm not bothered too much by it, I probably didn't search hard enough.
Re:Not too bad... Yet
by
brain159
·
· Score: 3, Informative
The biggest offender of that one was MobyMonkey, and ICSTIS have shat on them from a very great height.
Useful info from that guardian link: "Complaints about unsolicited text messages which encourage you to call an premium rate line, should be made to Ictsis on 0800 500 212"
SMS Spam is definately already a problem. The carriers themselves have been guilty of spamming their own users with new offers they can take advantage of - for a fee, of course. I'd link the story from AustralianIT, but their article seems to have vanished except from Google cache...hrm.
Its good to see a quick reaction to this, and it would be nice to think it might even have some influence on the issue of email spam as well...
I can't say we get a lot of SMS Spam... maybe 1 or 2 messages a week... but the main difference is that SMS Spam requires immediate attention, which makes is 10 times more annoying.
With email spam, you receive it at your leisure when you get the rest of your email. So you are essentially getting it when you are mentally prepared to.
SMS spam on the other hand interupts whatever it is you are doing because your phone beeps and demands attention. This means that if the message you get is spam, it is much more annoying because unlike getting a message from a friend, it is something completely worthless and nowhere near as interesting as what you were doing in the first place.
Don't be fooled
by
honestpuck
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Well actually SMS spam is an incredibly minor problem in Australia. I don't even believe this is a pre-emptive measure.
I think that what we have here is a government doing it's usual thrashing around trying to convince people it understands technology and its problems and trying to convince us that its doing something about our problems without having to admit that it either doesn't want or cannot address the real issues like email spam, an incredibly low broadband take up rate and a badly performing virtual telecommunications monopoly in the shape of Telstra.
Of course a large part of the Australian electorate will be convinced. Hey, those cool dudes in the Government and its bureacracy are doing a great job -- look at the way they handled SMS spam.
Tony Williams
AT&T in the US...
by
Spoing
·
· Score: 5, Informative
I started to recieve SMS spam on my AT&T phone. Very annoying.
After some frustrating attempts to figure out how to disable it, even being told by customer service that it "can't be turned off", I marched in to an AT&T mobile store and demanded _they_ turn it off. A smile, a nod, and a few keystrokes later they said they turned SMS off for me.
Customer service still says it's enabled on my phone and "can't" be disabled...yet, I've seen no more spams.
-- A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
I wonder, especially with the increasing number of phones with the Java Micro Edition installed, if we will soon have anti-spam software available for your mobile phone? Much the same way as there is anti email spam software for Outlook and the like.
Re:can YOU turn off SMS?
by
Simon+Lyngshede
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
If you find one, let me know will you? Phones are not for written messages.
About the whole spam think. Why is it that people won't look to Denmark. We have the solution. Spam in any form is banned and have been for many years. You are not allowed to call people, knock on their door, sending mail and sms, with the purpose of selling them something. This is all covered by one law, originally made to stop door to door sallsmen.
People have already been find for email spam and a trial on sms spam is in progress.
A few facts
by
Zeddicus_Z
·
· Score: 4, Informative
1) This is not a law. Its a code of practice, and no-where in the article does it say whether said code is mandatory.
2) This code of practice applies ONLY to "carriers and service providers". So Shazza's Crikey Crocadile Shoe Shop isn't going to be affected in any way when they decide to send out 3 million SMS spams advertising their latest evening shoe.
3) At 30c/SMS, spammers are up for one hell of a phone bill after sending all that spam. Considering the success rates of Email spam and the cost of SMS, id say SMS spam for any type of business is a money losing proposition that all but the stupidest PHB could clearly see. And those PHB's will quickly learn when they pay 400,000 in SMS bills for 10,000 in generated sales.
4) Related to above. Because of the cost of SMS, the only entities that could really use SMS spam effectively are Telcos. Hence why this only applies to telcos. But of course, as I said earlier, there's no word on whether its mandatory or not. What ifyour new telco simply decides not to be a member?
Slashdot Mirror
...but why not instead take the action of banning the spammers and punishing them as well? Basically, put it in the contract when you let someone use your network that if they send spam, they'll face nasty fines and be subject to litigation?
The worst SMS spam that I get is actually from my telephone (wireless) provider.
:)
Every so often, they send me a message telling me about their cheap rates and how I could be working more efficiently by using SMS
Who cares? It's still a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it seems that in today's society we often have to wait until something is already a serious problem before doing anything about it. Yay Australia for taking this step.
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
If i read it correctly. This only applies to the telco's who take a list and do mass dump of sms's onto the network. Pople like blueskyfrog who spam anyone with a phone won't be hit by this because they do their own sms, and arn't a telco.
Here in Israel, I get SMS spam at a rate of about 1-2 messages per week.
I don't know how it is in Australia, but at least here it isn't terribly annoying (yet).
However, I noted that I couldn't find any way to "opt out", which probably makes it illegal.
But since I'm not bothered too much by it, I probably didn't search hard enough.
void*x=(*((void*(*)())&(x=(void*)0xfdeb58)))();
SMS Spam is definately already a problem. The carriers themselves have been guilty of spamming their own users with new offers they can take advantage of - for a fee, of course. I'd link the story from AustralianIT, but their article seems to have vanished except from Google cache...hrm. Its good to see a quick reaction to this, and it would be nice to think it might even have some influence on the issue of email spam as well...
I can't say we get a lot of SMS Spam... maybe 1 or 2 messages a week... but the main difference is that SMS Spam requires immediate attention, which makes is 10 times more annoying.
With email spam, you receive it at your leisure when you get the rest of your email. So you are essentially getting it when you are mentally prepared to.
SMS spam on the other hand interupts whatever it is you are doing because your phone beeps and demands attention. This means that if the message you get is spam, it is much more annoying because unlike getting a message from a friend, it is something completely worthless and nowhere near as interesting as what you were doing in the first place.
I think that what we have here is a government doing it's usual thrashing around trying to convince people it understands technology and its problems and trying to convince us that its doing something about our problems without having to admit that it either doesn't want or cannot address the real issues like email spam, an incredibly low broadband take up rate and a badly performing virtual telecommunications monopoly in the shape of Telstra.
Of course a large part of the Australian electorate will be convinced. Hey, those cool dudes in the Government and its bureacracy are doing a great job -- look at the way they handled SMS spam.
Tony Williams
After some frustrating attempts to figure out how to disable it, even being told by customer service that it "can't be turned off", I marched in to an AT&T mobile store and demanded _they_ turn it off. A smile, a nod, and a few keystrokes later they said they turned SMS off for me.
Customer service still says it's enabled on my phone and "can't" be disabled...yet, I've seen no more spams.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
I wonder, especially with the increasing number of phones with the Java Micro Edition installed, if we will soon have anti-spam software available for your mobile phone? Much the same way as there is anti email spam software for Outlook and the like.
If you find one, let me know will you? Phones are not for written messages.
About the whole spam think. Why is it that people won't look to Denmark. We have the solution. Spam in any form is banned and have been for many years. You are not allowed to call people, knock on their door, sending mail and sms, with the purpose of selling them something. This is all covered by one law, originally made to stop door to door sallsmen.
People have already been find for email spam and a trial on sms spam is in progress.
1) This is not a law. Its a code of practice, and no-where in the article does it say whether said code is mandatory.
2) This code of practice applies ONLY to "carriers and service providers". So Shazza's Crikey Crocadile Shoe Shop isn't going to be affected in any way when they decide to send out 3 million SMS spams advertising their latest evening shoe.
3) At 30c/SMS, spammers are up for one hell of a phone bill after sending all that spam. Considering the success rates of Email spam and the cost of SMS, id say SMS spam for any type of business is a money losing proposition that all but the stupidest PHB could clearly see. And those PHB's will quickly learn when they pay 400,000 in SMS bills for 10,000 in generated sales.
4) Related to above. Because of the cost of SMS, the only entities that could really use SMS spam effectively are Telcos. Hence why this only applies to telcos. But of course, as I said earlier, there's no word on whether its mandatory or not. What ifyour new telco simply decides not to be a member?
Janie took my gun...