Phone spam plague spreading

The plague of cellphone spam is spreading and grey areas in local legislation are allowing unscrupulous businesses to proliferate spam, say industry experts.

Wireless Application Service Providers Association (WASPA) deputy chairman Pieter de Villiers says phone spam will remain a problem for some time. "Spam is increasing in all mediums and I don`t see any hope of that letting up. Fortunately, phone spam is growing at a slower rate than the e-mail variety."

MTN senior public relations manager Mandisa Korri agrees that it has become a real problem for network operators, stating that MTN "views phone spam very seriously". While no figures on the current levels of phone spam are immediately available, Korri says a report providing statistics on the matter would be ready at a later stage.

The law requires that phone users must opt in if they wish to receive messages from companies, but because of a lack of clarity in legislation and certain firms misleading consumers, spammers can generally ply their trade unhindered, says De Villiers.

"In principle, it is illegal [to send spam to users who did not opt in] in SA, but it is not properly implemented. There are ways around it, as there are still grey areas in the legislation."

However, this is not to say current legislation is insufficient, adds De Villiers. "We need a test case. It would be great if someone took a case of illegal phone spamming to court, as it would set a precedent. But that person would have to be very patient and dedicated to carry the process through in its entirety."

NOD32 CEO Justin Stanford adds that some companies are guilty of misleading phone users into opening themselves up to spam.

"Some companies are definitely spamming people who provide their cellphone number innocently as a part of a registration - say on a Web site - or when providing their details as a part of a service they are engaging that company for, but do not specifically indicate they want to receive cellphone spam.

"Users are frequently tricked into doing so as well. Sometimes users are not fully aware of what they are authorising. Often when filling out a Web site, there will be tick-boxes that ask whether the user would like to receive `product news and updates`, and the tick-box will often be already ticked. Many users may not read that and 'untick` the boxes, or may not appreciate that `product news and updates` opens them up to any spam the company wishes," says Stanford.

Cellphone users should also be aware that their number is far more easily available than they might think, says De Villiers. "Every time you download a ringtone, or SMS a competition or service, someone is recording your number."

It is not only the smaller, unknown companies that attain and use these numbers, he adds. "Even some reputable companies are getting these numbers, and will come back at people asking if they want any other services. Essentially that is spam too. The person never asked for that."

For phone spam to be countered, all parties involved need to accept they play a part in proliferating it, says De Villiers. "The first step of responsibility lies with the guy sending out the campaign. The relevant service provider should ideally advise this person on how to go about this ethically."

Cellphone owners must also shoulder some of the blame, and need to exercise more caution, while network operators should educate people in this regard, adds De Villiers.

Network operators also have a responsibility to monitor and regulate SMS in order to counter any phone spam, says MTN`s Korri. "We are signatories to the SMS Code of Conduct, which governs the use of SMS, and we adhere to these guidelines."

Setting up a mechanism that allows users to report spam and that can take action against spammers is essential to regulating the problem, says De Villiers.

"If consumers had a channel to complain, we would have hundreds of people reporting it. At present, consumers just don`t know where to go."

WASPA is putting together a code of conduct for its members, which is due shortly. "The code of conduct will address phone spam and will certainly have an impact. It will put procedures in place for the consumer to follow."

From a network operator`s perspective, Korri says MTN has installed monitoring software on its network. "This will allow us to detect phone spam and we have the capability to automatically block it when it is detected."