NCJ Number
211017
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2005 Pages: 44,46,49
Date Published
August 2005
Length
5 pages
Annotation
After discussing the prevalence and methods of "spammers" (advertisers and marketers) who target mobile phone users, this article discusses the technologies being used to prevent spammers from reaching mobile phone users.
Abstract
There is no difference between the ways spam gets to wired compared to wireless devices. The Internet and the telephone system are open networks, which means spammers do not need permission to send e-mails or dial numbers. Just as spammers scan Web site registers for certain Internet Service Provider-hosted e-mail addresses, they can simply guess the 10-digit phone number that identifies a cell phone's e-mail. Wireless Services estimates that 43 percent of all U.S. mobile phone messages are spam, a 25-percent increase over the last year; however, consumers are unaware of this increase because Wireless Services' technology blocks spam before it reaches handsets. Because public-safety personnel use mobile phones in emergencies when they do not have radio interoperability, spam messages, particularly in the text-message format, can impair efficient communications. Wireless providers have a vested interest in countering spam, because it affects consumer satisfaction and carrier preferences. Wireless Services has built one of the only solutions that combats mobile spam in the United States. Anti-spam software filters out the spam at the network edge before it is delivered to the targeted consumer. The software addresses multiple layers of the mobile network, seeking patterns specific to mobile devices, and it ensures the rapid delivery of messages. The solution uses most standard techniques to identify and block spam, including IP address blocking, white and black lists, and Bayesian probability. Roaming Messenger, Inc., offers a solution for spam that is especially useful for public-safety applications; it is a mobile messaging platform that easily integrates into existing computer aided dispatch and incident management.