I Got MoSpammed By T-Mobile ... Twice!
Today I received my very first SMS spam. Two of them, in fact, in less than two hours. They weren’t from someone named Unkowningly R. Pessimist pushing the latest erectile disfunction pills, or from Coxswaining S. Disraeli telling me about my free 3 day membership to a great new porn site. No, these two unsolicited SMS messages were from my mobile phone carrier, T-Mobile. They were announcing promotions for a free phone with no activiation fee if I come in to my local T-Mobile store and sign up for an additional line now.
Here is the content of the first message:
Lane.Grafton@T-Mobile.com / SALE: add a line to your account & get FREE phone with NO activation fee!! Call Lane xxx-xxx-xxxx (T-Mobile) * Subject to credit app
After receiving the first message, I promptly called T-Mobile and confirmed it was from them. The customer rep was very courteous and credited my account for the SMS (although I later learned that I was never charged for it since it came from T-Mobile), and took my number off of their spam, er, “special promotions” SMS list. Shortly thereafter I received the second message, and again I called T-Mobile to complain.
This is the start of something that is inevitable, and disgusting. My mobile phone was one of the last spaces that spam had not invaded. I do not receive telemarketing calls, and I never got SMS spam … until today. Now, it seems that my carrier has the ability, without my permission, to send me any amount and kind of spam they choose. They control the content and the distribution channel, and it’s my responsibility to try and prevent it.
1 comment:
Consumer Power!!!
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