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Save This Page"Seen yr pf your kinda cute wanta chat"
Oh, no, you've got to be kidding: A spam message on my cell phone. Where did they get my name?
Must I foot the bill for unsolicited text messages? Can I block cell spam?
. . .
You probably figured that sooner or later unsolicited advertisements would find their way to your mobile phone.
After all, 78 percent of households in the U.S. and Canada have at least one cell phone, according to Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass.
In the U.S., the three largest carriers, Verizon Wireless, AT&T's wireless unit and Sprint Nextel, have 70 percent of users. And, 41 percent send and receive text messages.
What you need to know and do:
The vast majority of mobile junk ads come via the Internet and are generated by auto-dialing equipment, Verizon Wireless spokesman John Johnson said. Spammers don't know who you are or even that you're a cellular customer unless you respond.
The federal CAN-SPAM Act that took effect in March 2005 makes it illegal to send unwanted commercial e-mail messages to wireless devices without a consumer's prior permission.
But it permits messaging to existing, consenting customers. Customers may unknowingly consent to such messages when they click "I agree" to the terms and conditions of their plan.
Federal spam laws, though, don't stop unscrupulous marketers and crooks who do not play by the rules.
"We've seen a huge increase in the volume of messaging traffic that we believe to be spam," Johnson said. "Today, our system filters out tens of millions" of junk text messages every day.
Stephanie Vinge, Sprint's spokeswoman, said "almost 65 percent" of the millions of text messages headed to its subscribers are filtered out.
. . .
You can slow nuisance spam by:
The federal spam law permits you to undo your authorization to receive unsolicited messages. You also can ask your provider not to solicit you.
AT&T has some options such as programming your phone to reject Internet text messages but accept them from wireless phones.
Call your carrier's customer service and try to get credit for unsolicited text messages. Some carriers will issue a credit with no hassle, while others work on a case-by-case basis.
. . .
Unsolicited junk messages can be costly. You may pay 10 cents to 20 cents for each message received, or it can use up messages in your bundled plan. You also may wind up on some type of $3.99-$9.99 per-month subscription service that you don't want.
Monitor your wireless bills closely. Act quickly to block and report spam. Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or itaylor@timesdispatch.com.
