With the onslaught of unsolicited, nuisance and silent calls to our home and office phones, we are now receiving spam text messages (SMS) about claiming compensation for the motor accident we didn't have, reclaiming PPI for bank loans we never opened and of course the unwanted phone calls trying to sell us something like a phone upgrade from a telecoms network we don't use.
The large companies behind these unsolicited text messages don't actually have your mobile number on record. They use a very clever and complex software program that randomly creates millions of mobile numbers every few minutes and that software will in turn send a text message to all the numbers it generates. Of course, some get through and some don't.
If you reply to them with the word STOP then that confirms to the sender that your mobile number is a live one and more often than not, you will receive even more text messages and they will add your number to their database and more often than not, they will sell that database on to other providers to further increase their profits.
There are two or even three steps you can take to stop these unwanted text messages and calls.
Firstly, DO NOT reply to them ever. Don't even send the word STOP. Just ignore them and delete them and chances are, you won't ever hear from them again.
Secondly, you can forward the SMS to your network provider on 7726. All network providers use the same contact number and this number can be easily remembered as they are the numbers on your telephone keypad that spell out the word SPAM.
Thirdly, some smart phone apps are available to combat these annoying SMS messages and calls. These apps will block calls & messages but you will need to check with your relevant phone supplier if they have an app available and if they charge for it.
Your help to combat these unwanted and irrelevant text messages will help all mobile phone users throughout the country. It's quick and easy to report these problem companies and if you can do your little bit to help, the mobile phone population will be grateful for your support.
The more we report these scam companies, the quicker they will learn and hopefully put a stop to these messages once and for all.
Hopefully, one day in the future, all mobile phones will have a built in phone number blocker which will be a great relief to every mobile owner.
Source by Leah Masters
