SPAM THREATENS CELL PHONE COMMUNICATION
Cell Phone Users Should Be Concerned With The Industry's Ability To Protect Them From Spam
St. Louis, MO - October 4, 2006. One in six cell phone owners in the United States report receiving unsolicited text messages on their phones from advertisers, and one mobile marketing expert says it is a symptom of a larger spam threat that could change the way millions of Americans use their cell phones and mobile devices."Federal law isn't stopping unsolicited mail to cell phones" warned Steven Kelley, CEO of MESSAGEbuzz.com. Kelley says the lure of 10 billion text messages sent by U.S. cell phone users every month has caught the attention of spammers and he believes it is a growing threat to legitimate mobile marketing businesses that follow the law. "The Federal Communications Commission and Mobile Marketing Association prohibit unsolicited text messages, but these spammers are not concerned with preserving the industry. They see huge potential in text marketing and scammers have ways to circumvent the protections in place such as manipulating technology or burying the privacy policy which states they will share data," explained Kelley.
Kelley and MESSAGEbuzz.com work with all major U.S. wireless carries to send marketing messages to cell phone users who have given their permission or opted in for text messages from companies they do business with. Spammers don't offer that option and often leave cell phone users angry and confused about their rights.
"Spam is a huge threat in the wireless realm and will be difficult to impede. Cell phone users often won't read the fine print and will consent to receiving marketing messages without realizing it. I was recently approached by a company offering to sell 2.5 million opt-in records and growing at a pace of sixty thousand a month. They offered clear records where each cell phone consumer had opted in which covered them legally. However, this approach in mobile marketing borders on unethical practices. Yet considering the financial incentive someone will buy the list" said Kelley.
The Pew Research Center found almost a third of the people who send text messages are receiving spam now and Kelley predicts a huge increase in the coming months. "The best way to protect your mobile device from spam is to only share your personal data with reputable businesses and know what you are opting in to" explained Kelley.