Spam text messages reported to mobile phone
operators have been thrown “into a bin” as networks fail to take the deluge of
messages seriously but a more effective way to stop text spam is on the way.
Mobile phone users in the UK are being
inundated with six million spam texts every day
Neil Cook, chief technology officer at
Cloudmark - a company that helps to detect and stop spam text messages -
claimed that networks throw away reports of spam from customers. Spokespeople
from 02 and Vodafone denied this, while EE, the parent company of Orange and
T-Mobile in the UK, didn’t respond to our requests for comment.
Spam texts in the UK are typically about
PPI compensation, pay-day loans and personal injury claims.
A
new system for reporting text spam could soon be adopted by UK networks
All networks accept spam reports from their
customers sent to the 7726 short code, but Three is the only UK network
currently signed up to a global spam-reporting service. The service is backed
by the GSMA, a global body representing mobile phone operators around the
world. It is unclear what the rest of the networks do with the spam reports
they receive, if anything - which has allowed scammers to operate relatively unhindered.
It is hoped that the GSMA’s spam reporting
service will soon be adopted by more UK networks and that its wider use will
make it easier to detect and stop the people sending spam text messages.
An industry source said that the wholesale
adoption of the spam-reporting service by UK operators could “dramatically
reduce the number of spam messages being received”.
While this problem is not new, Cook said
that networks only began to sit up and pay attention when they realized that
spam texts were costing them money.
“Before we were talking about customer
satisfaction and it wasn’t so interesting, but when a network is losing money
it becomes a different conversation,” Cook explained.
Networks have been losing money from spam
messages because of termination charges that networks impose on one another. A
text sent from 02 to Vodafone, for example, will cost 02 a couple of pence.
These costs are usually cancelled out as people tend to reply to texts, but
this is not the case with spam, which is normally ignored.
“Spam activity does have a cost impact to
our business,” an O2 spokesperson said.
Text spam has already been dealt a major
blow in the US where all the major mobile phone networks use the same
spam-reporting system. Thousands of spam numbers are being blocked every day in
America.
O2 confirmed it was improving its system
for reporting spam, with all UK networks expected to sign up to the GSMA-backed
spam reporting network.
“We have plans to make enhancements to our
service in the next few weeks, which will help reduce the number of fraudsters
engaging in this type of activity,” an O2 spokesperson said.
Messaging apps overtake texts for first
time
The number of messages sent on chat apps is
now higher than the number of text messages sent.
In 2012 a total of 19.1 billion messages
were sent using messaging apps, compared to an average of 16.7 billion text
messages.
By the end of this year analysts expect the
number of messages sent using apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook
Messenger to rocket to 41 billion worldwide.
Mobile phone operators are already seeing a
decline in the number of texts messages being sent, according to business
analyst firm Information.
Messaging
apps
While many mobile phone contracts have a
limit on the number of texts people can send, messaging and chat apps use
mobile data so don’t count towards this. With many contracts including generous
allowances for mobile data, people are increasingly turning towards messaging
apps.
Text messages won’t be going away anytime
soon, however, and are still proving incredibly popular in developing
countries.
Internet calls - Skype
calls added to Outlook.com inboxes
Microsoft-owned Skype is being added to
Outlook.com so people can make video calls directly from their inbox.
Skype
calls
Anyone with Outlook.com and Skype accounts
can now link them together and click on a contact to send them an email or
start a video or voice call using Skype. A preview version of Skype for
Outlook.com is being trialed in the UK, with other countries being added this
summer.
“With Skype for Outlook.com, you can choose
the right medium for your message, whether it is an email, call, video call or
instant message,” Skype said in a blog post announcing the new service.
