Mobile Spam Texts Hit 4.5 Billion Raising Consumer Ire

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-30/mobile-spam-texts-hit-4-5-billion-raising-consumer-ire.html

The unwelcome messages that have been clogging e-mail inboxes for two decades have made the jump to handsets, as more people use smartphones in place of personal computers and texting becomes more popular. The number of U.S. spam text messages rose 45 percent last year to 4.5 billion messages, said Richi Jennings, an industry analyst. Spam phone calls also are proliferating. The surge is costing carriers money and frustrating users, who must pay for the messages and deal with potentially fraudulent texts.

Spammers can get phone numbers from the Internet, or use software or websites to randomly generate thousands or even millions of numbers in a particular area code. Often using prepaid phones that can’t be traced back to the sender, they can then use auto-dialing technology to reach recipients.

Costs for spammers are extremely low. Unlimited texting for a prepaid phone costs about $20 per month and can be used to spam millions of people. Yet for wireless customers without a texting plan, the cost of receiving constant spams can add up quickly. The typical fee is 20 cents per received text.