iMessage Spam

iMessageSpampng
iMessage is the Apple messaging system that lets folks send short messages to one another over WiFi. In December I received my first iMessage spam.
I’m not even really sure how to report it or how to report it to.
Mobile spam is a hot button issue right now, but the tools just aren’t around to control SMS, iMessage and TXT spam like there is with email. And even though sending unsolicited messages to a mobile device is against several laws here in the US, there does seem to be a core of spammers that continue to send.

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Phones part of SMS botnet

Spammers have been moving into the phone market for a long time. Just recently security firms have discovered an Android  botnet. This botnet sends viruses over SMS, and when a link in the SMS is clicked, the phone is infected with the virus which then sends more SMS.
The technology for blocking and reporting SMS spam is comparable to email blocking technology 10 or 12 years ago. There just aren’t many tools for people to use to control this spam. M3AAWG is addressing mobile spam, but it still seems that the volumes are increasing without much recourse. Even the 7726 reporting number doesn’t seem to stop the spam (nor remove per-text charges).
At least in the beginning of the email spam problem, we didn’t have botnets. Now, at the beginning of the curve for SMS spam, we already have self replicating botnets. I’m afraid the good guys might be behind on this issue.
Then again I might just be cranky because SMS spammers woke us up at 4:30 am.
Infoworld article
TNW article
PCWorld article

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Spamming the wrong person

Chris from Cloudmark tracks a UK text spammer.

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SMS Spam is Down?

Cloudmark says, yes, SMS gift card spam is down, thanks to recent action taken by the Federal Trade Commission. Read more over on PC World. I’m very glad to see this. I ended up on the list of one of those spammers and they were driving me nuts. Thank goodness for Google Voice’s report spam functionality.
What can you do to stop SMS spam? If you use Google Voice, and the SMS messages are coming to your Google Voice number, just report it as spam inside of the GV interface. If it’s coming directly to your cell number, not via GV, then you can forward the message to 7726 (SPAM). It’s a clunky, multi-step process, however. And does it actually result in anything happening? Hard to say. I don’t yet have any proof that SMS spam reports to a provider are quick to result in blocking, as is the case with email spam. I suspect it still can’t hurt to report SMS spam, though. The more reports, the more likely a provider will be driven to take action.
 

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