Cape Town - Spam has become so prevalent on the Internet that some researchers estimate up to 90 percent of all e-mail traffic is spam.
As mobile communication has grown in popularity, mobile spam, or m-spam, is similarly increasing. However, m-spam is currently nowhere close to the problem of email spam – yet.
That’s according to the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of SA (WASPA) which says that as mobile devices become the primary way that people communicate and access the Internet, it is logical to assume that m-spam will increase in volume.Chair of WASPA`s Code of Conduct Working Group, RusselStromin, says,”It is vital that the industry, and consumers of mobile content and applications, work hard to create an anti-spam culture right now.We all need to cooperate on ways to stem the tide before m-spam swamps us all and degrades what is a brilliant marketing and communications medium.”
Many people find m-spam much more offensive than e-mail spam because the mobile device is carried on one’s person and therefore much more personal. Unwanted and uninvited communication on this highly personal device thus tends to feel much more intrusive. And that’s understandable.
Tips for consumers:
When consumers receive commercial SMS messages, they should also check the SMS Code website at http://www.smscode.co.za/index.asp to see whether a registered number was used. If not, they should take the matter up with the business, and urge it to use a member of WASPA.
“Pressure from customers is the surest way to change behaviours because the customer is still king, no matter what anyone says,” notesStromin.
When unsolicited messages are received from WASPA members, a complaint can be logged at WASPA’s website, www.waspa.org.za.
“If all businesses use only WASPA members for messaging, and only send via registered originating numbers, WASPA will be able to regulate the commercial SMS messaging space much better. This will increase the value of SMS messaging for all,” concludes Stromin.