SMS Spam scam

[azekeil]

Most of the people who know me know I abhor phones, especially mobile ones. Unfortunately, they're deemed a necessary evil. So, it pains me considerably to let you know that I received a text message from +447901512442 saying:

"Can you tell me why you dont whant to bouther will delat nubber" (sic)

Now I'm fairly certain it's no one I know, and I haven't responded. I'm guessing it's another scam designed to rip people off who might respond to that. I'm imagining the message contents will vary slightly, with 'realistic' misspellings thrown in for authenticity. If you're uncertain, check your balance before and after texting the person back. If it costs a lot to send them a text, I'd advise calling your mobile operator to inform them and request your money back.

Comments

[ev1ldonut.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, can find nothing about that number or text, or anything like it, online. :/

May just be a wrong number, but it may be a scam. Either way, you probably made the right choice to just ignore it.

[sepheri.livejournal.com]

Couldn't it just be a genuine mistake?

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Well, possibly. That's why I'm posting this, so those who receive similar texts can put two and two together (I'm on Orange PAYG, in case that becomes a factor).

[sepheri.livejournal.com]

You're a very suspicious man

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Two things: I work in an industry built around recognising and filtering out spam and scam messages - you could say it's my job.

Second, I don't know anyone who would text me like that, as badly spelt as that (to the point of seeming machine-generated). If they've sent it to the wrong number, then I'm not worried about it anyway. But at least posting about it gives people the opportunity to see a pattern - one of the tools of our industry is doing just that :)

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I did a quick search for the number, but no luck.

[dylan.livejournal.com]

I got one saying "Hi there just to let you know this is my new number. Hope you are good and happy joanne x"

I can't think of any Joanne's I'm still in touch with and I didn't want to reply because a) I hate sending texts, all those stoopid little keys and b) I guessed it was probably a scam or a wrong number

So Joanne, if it was genuine and you're out there, sorry ;)

[microchip.livejournal.com]

Doesn't look like a premium rate reply code anyway. 07901 is a Vodafone code (providing it's not been moved with a PAC).

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

No, but I believe these have been deregulated recently, so services can appear like mobile numbers. I could be wrong. Hopefully stuartl or rikrose might hvae more information.

[microchip.livejournal.com]

Aye. I'm curious to know the outcome, as I'm involved in the premium SMS business myself.