They sent almost 5 million spam cell phone messages

Jan 25, 2007 11:43 GMT  ·  By

Spam is one of the biggest security problems for all software developers because all of them are working hardly to create powerful solutions to block all the spamming methods available in our days. One of the most used spamming alternatives is mail spam that sends a huge number of unsolicited mail messages to a certain mail account. I guess many owners of e-mail accounts are receiving tons of mails that contain adverts to all kinds of things or announcements that are meant to disturb our mail reading experience.

In December, multiple security companies announced that one of the most popular spam methods in that month was SMS spamming that can send several messages to mobile phone owners from all around the world. At that time, the security firms sustained that there is no solution that can block these messages, besides the mobile phone operator that can block the sender's number directly from its services.

Today, the SMS spamming is again in the spotlights because Sophos announced that two people from Florida were sued for sending 5 million spam cell phone messages to customers from all around the country. Sophos reported the spammers sent messages saying "We have someone interested in buying or renting your Time Share" and advised users to visit two website links.

""Cell phone spam isn't just a nuisance, it can potentially hit you in the pocket too. Often mobile spam messages may tell you just to call back a certain number, only for the recipient to find they are unwittingly making a premium rate call. Although it's a long way to go before SMS text spam is anything like as big a problem as regular email spam, we are hearing more reports of cell phone users being targeted. Users should report SMS abuse to their phone network providers and think carefully before acting upon unsolicited text messages," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.