Text messaging over the years has proved to be extremely useful, but it has brought its own set of nuisances, mainly spam (bulk SMS’ sent out for marketing/promotion) and scams (SMS-based frauds). While tech-savvy users know the technicalities of SMS and what people can do with it, there are people who are unable to differentiate a legit text from a fraudulent one. Scamming has gone digital with advancement in technology and the reason for it is lack of awareness among mobile phone users.

If you receive a text message that says you’ve won 25,000 rupees in a lottery, and urges you to call back for info (and I’m sure most of us have seen this text message once in a while), don’t do that. The sender could also claim to be from the very network you’re using. Either way, it’s too good to be true. Scammers' send out text messages in bulk to a wide array of phone numbers, thanks to the text message packages being offered at a pathetically low cost. If one of the recipients of the scammers' falls into the trap, they get their return on investment (ROI) or even more than that.

Unfortunately, when it comes to protecting a subscriber from SMS scams, the network doesn’t accept any responsibility. I contacted all the local mobile networks, and inquired about their procedure to facilitate a subscriber if s/he gets scammed over SMS. Everyone returned with, more or less, the same response: the user files a complaint against the number; the complaint is logged and forwarded to the complaints department, which takes “appropriate action” against the owner. When asked to provide details about what actions are taken, they didn’t give any proper answer. None of them provided the contact details for the complaints department so I could dig out the facts myself. What’s even more disappointing is that if you’re scammed by a user of another carrier, and you file a complaint to your own network, your complaint isn’t likely to be entertained by your network at all. They’ll ask you to contact the network that the scammer was using. That’s the level of customer service we have these days (thank you for calling , goodbye).

So, it boils down to the fact that you have to take care of things yourself, and stay aware of how scams are executed over SMS. I found out that the networks cannot provide any substantial statistics on the “reactive actions” they have taken against scammers so far. The state of “proactive actions” is even more tragic. Mobile operators don’t bother to pay direct attention to any mobile phone number which is sending out bulk amounts of text messages at once (though they do so on directions from PTA). As per the representatives of networks “it’s not our job, it’s up to PTA”. How can we actually expect the networks to do something about SMS spam, when they are the ones spamming our phones with their ads. Luckily, you can call your respective network’s helpline, and (strictly) ask them to turn off the promotional services for you (unless you want to be ‘notified’ by the latest- rather useless, information from the network). Anyway, I contacted the PTA for an official statement on SMS scamming, and they were kind enough to come up with really interesting and comprehensive facts.

Firstly, PTA has taken a significant regulatory initiative on SMS scam and spam prevention, and in this regard “Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communication Regulations, 2009” (the “SPAM Regulations”) were notified on 31st July, 2009 (same are available at PTA’s website). These regulations apply to all licensed telecom operators in relation to ensuring and protecting the interest of telecom consumers by incorporating measures to control spam, fraudulent, unsolicited and obnoxious communication as provided in the regulation under the PTA’s mandate.

Furthermore standard operating procedures (SOPs) to control Spamming, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communications were established and promulgated in August 2010 by the Authority. PTA is in the process of review of these Regulations. Most significantly, anti-spam filters have been deployed by Cellular Mobile Telephone operators (CMTOs) through a huge investment that check and block in real time the generation of spamming from any telephone subscription. Cellular subscribers involved in fraudulent communication are warned and subsequently blocked on account of involvement in fraudulent communication. In terms of a few statistics, PTA received approximately 1101 individual consumer complaints on fraudulent activities against Cellular Mobile Operator (CMOs) from January 2013 to mid-February. The same were pursued with the concerned operator and redressal measures taken accordingly.

And so, I decided to discover how scammers execute their plan. A simple Google search for “SMS sending software” would be enough to take you to several sites selling bulk SMS sending software. The worrisome fact is that some of them have databases of phone numbers, categorised by cities of Pakistan, and even categorised by the recipients (doctors, students, businessmen, etcetera). But how do they manage to get their hands on such sensitive information? When I asked this question, I was told

“that’s none of your business. If you want the service, pay us for it and your job will be done”.

Many speculate that the cellular companies (or some of their employees) sell the databases of subscribers to the SMS spammers in return for a lucrative amount. This is however, unverified as of yet, and no information is available on this matter. According to PTA, simple combinations of numbers can make spam target lists, since the source of mobile phone numbers is limited. However, PTA also suggested that further information might be sought from mobile operators (question is, whom should one contact to actually inquire about such a thing?).

But it’s not like the spammers and scammers are free out there in the wild. PTA is definitely taking the best measures to control them (yet, scammers sometimes manage to sneak through). PTA has proactive measures in place for scam/spam prevention, without even the customer lodging a complaint. Anti spam filters installed at CMTOs’ networks detect spamming activity in real time as well as through offline analysis.

All SMS above the stated frequency in a given time as approved by PTA is blocked and outgoing services of the originator is blocked. And when I asked the cellular network representatives about such mobile numbers who have been blocked from PTA’s end (due to spam/scam complaints), they told that such numbers are kept blocked, even though their owners call the network’s helpline and ask why their number has been blocked (as if they don’t know!). They’re told that it’s an order by PTA, and that it isn’t under the control of the network to unblock the number.

At this point, I’d like to appreciate PTA’s proactive efforts to block SMS scam and spam. However, I’d also like to mention that there are softwares in the market that have been designed keeping PTA’s blacklisting algorithm in view (a google search for ‘bulk sms software’ yields several such results).

Since PTA’s blocking system works on a specified method, that is, if a cellular subscriber crosses the allowed threshold of outgoing messages in a given time, that number is blacklisted. These softwares solve this problem by not letting their users cross that limit, “to avoid getting blacklisted by PTA”. A more intelligent improvement in PTA’s proactive system (by reverse engineering these softwares designed to bypass the blocking system) would be sufficient to put an end to SMS spam and even scams once and for all.

The earlier forms of scam messages used to trick the recipient into thinking they have won free balance which can be attained by dialling a specific code or sending a message on a particular number... Pretty soon, awareness increased and people became aware of these SMS scams. But this scamming method remained valid till date. The efforts done by cellular companies need to be appreciated here (although most of the credit goes to PTA for ordering them to do so)- they improved the balance sharing system, and added verification in it.

You might’ve noticed that whenever you try to share balance with someone, you get a confirmation message that essentially means “you’re about to share balance with this person, are you sure?” This helps people avoid scams and change their decision at the last minute. According to PTA, telecom licensees were further directed that balance transfer facility shall only be activated through an explicit consent/request from the subscriber. A white list of short codes is being maintained by the licensees and any short code outside the white list is blocked at the cellular operator’s network. Moreover, Operators are to block any SMS containing fraudulent strings (e.g. ***, ### etcetera) and resultant balance transfer.

Scammers have been exploiting certain networks’ features for quite a while now, and cellular companies are trying to control them. For instance, there used to be a scam message that would tell you that you’ve received a voice message, and you need to dial a code to listen to it. The code would send balance to the scammer. The networks started publicizing about SMS scams, sending text messages on how not to enter any code that someone tells you (as mentioned above, it’s PTA’s effort to control the scamming).

PTA has taken a number of steps to educate the public in general and telecom consumers in particular to beware them from fraudulent activities and not to fall in the trap of such unscrupulous elements. They have run media campaign for the awareness of telecom users on the subject issue. Mobile operators also give ads in the media for their subscribers and issue disclaimers at the time of promoting prize schemes. Numbers of advertisements campaigns have also been published in nationwide press and run on TV/radio channels for the awareness of the general/public. Have a look at some of these ads that appeared in the newspapers here.

Tips to avoid getting scammed

If you ever receive a message regarding something you’ve won, be sceptical about it. Ask yourself: Does it look legit? Did you ever even participate in a competition which the text message claims you’ve won? If the sender identifies to be some official person from the network, why are they using a common phone number instead of a dedicated network number? Even if the text message has your phone number or even your name written in it, doesn’t mean it is legit. You can always file a complaint on PTA’s hotline (toll-free) at 0800-55055 or the other numbers that you can see in these PTA ads. The complaint can be against any phone number from which you believe you received a scam/spam message.

• Disclaimer: The views presented in this article don’t mean to target a particular individual or company. The statistics mentioned come courtesy of PTA, and other information is provided with hands-on research. Any other information is explicitly defined as ‘unverified’ within the article.*

Special thanks to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) for their valuable contribution to this article.