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2023: In the USA, mobile operators were obliged to block SMS spam
In mid-March 2023, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved new rules obliging telecommunications companies to take measures to combat SMS spam. The introduction of requirements is dictated by a sharply increased number of subscriber complaints about text messages sent by robotic systems through cellular networks.
In accordance with the adopted norms, mobile operators must block SMS from suspicious sources. Such messages, for example, can be sent from telephone numbers that are "invalid, unallocated or unused." In addition, telecom companies are required to block SMS from those numbers whose owners declare that they never use them to send text messages. The requirement also applies to numbers for which SMS is not originally supposed to be sent.
Blocking text phone spam is the FCC's next step to protect subscribers from unwanted, intrusive and potentially fraudulent information. Earlier, measures were taken to suppress robotic calls: these requirements, as noted, generally gave a positive effect, but provoked a rapid growth of "garbage" SMS mailings. During 2022 alone, the FCC received more than 18 thousand complaints from subscribers about text telephone spam.
The US regulator says that unwanted or fraudulent SMS can pose an even greater risk to consumers than robotic voice calls. The fact is that, unlike phone calls, text messages can contain malicious links through which viruses designed to steal money or confidential information can penetrate a mobile device.[1]
2022: Russian SMS mailing market up 20%
The volume of the Russian SMS mailing market in 2022 increased by 20%, analysts calculated. According to them, the rise was mainly due to customer notifications of banks, some of which lost the ability to send push notifications.
It is reported that the main ones banks that have increased the volume of use of SMS messages are,, "Sber", VTB Alfa-Bank"." The Tinkoff fact that the growth of the market was influenced by the forced refusal of banks from push notifications, agrees with the source of Vedomosti in the operator of the big four. In 2021, the market also grew, but the indicator was less - at the level of 12%.
Analyst Finam"" Leonid Delitsyn estimated the volume of the Russian SMS mailing market at 40 billion rubles at the end of 2022. According to his calculations, bank transactions account for 50% of this amount. The analyst agreed with this assessment. iKS-Consulting Maxim Savvatin
According to TMT Consulting experts, SMS mailings are actively used by courier services, beauty salons and other companies, for example, to remind you of an appointment with a doctor or an upcoming cultural event.
Basic SMS tariffs are public and range from 1.5 rubles per message, but many banks conduct settlements with operators on individual terms. That is why it is difficult to make assumptions about the rise in prices for the service. In addition, the types of SMS and their cost differ: transactional bank messages are the cheapest, authorization (with a password) a little more expensive, the most expensive advertising sms can cost 2-3 rubles per message. The surcharge can also be for using letters instead of a number in an incoming message.
But SMS mailings will not have significant prospects, in the next 2-4 years the market in money and in the number of messages sent will begin to stagnate, Maxim Savvatin predicts.[2]
2014
Entry into force of amendments on the fight against SMS spam
From October 21, 2014, the number of SMS-SPAM will gradually decrease. On this day, amendments to the law "On Communications" come into force.
First, mailings made from federal telephone numbers are prohibited. That is, the recipient will see the sender's number not in the form + 79XXXXXXXX, but in the form of Latin text and numbers, for example, SMS10.
Secondly, a definition is given of the mailings for which the consent of the subscriber is required. This is "automatic transmission of short text messages over a mobile radiotelephone network or transmission of messages using numbering that does not correspond to the Russian system and numbering plan, as well as messages whose transmission is not provided for by the contract on interconnection with foreign telecom operators." Thus, messages sent by individuals from personal subscriber numbers are derived from the concept of SMS mailings.
Thirdly, now subscribers will be able to directly contact telecom operators so that their numbers are removed from the mailing list. Previously, the operator had no legal reason to block mailings, since he was obliged to bring all messages to subscribers. But if a subscriber does not want to receive an advertising newsletter, for example, from a bank, with it he may lose both transaction and service messages. At the same time, under Article 9 of the Law "On the National Payment System," banks must inform citizens about each transaction performed on the card. So it turns out that refusing such a mailing is illegal. Even if the subscriber receives an advertisement from the same number. Therefore, the National Council of the Financial Market (NSFR) appealed to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications with a proposal to oblige operators to consider each case of refusal separately.
Fourth, the fundamental difference between the new legislative norms is that the concept of "consent" to receive SMS mailings is specified.
"Consent can be not only written, but also any other, if it allows you to clearly identify the consent of the subscriber to receive mailings. In the future, perhaps, the practice of applying the consent of the subscriber will be clarified, perhaps verification through SMS messages will be introduced, "explained Dmitry Avramenko, executive director of the company.
Finally, the legislator qualified the necessary conditions for recognizing the distribution as legal. The main sign of this is now the presence of a direct contract concluded by the distribution customer with the mobile radiotelephone operator, the subscriber of which is intended to be sent.
According to the General Director of Devino Telecom Danila Shmelev, the SMS information market is awaiting recovery: "The market clarifies the essence of relations between cellular operators and aggregating companies. It is worth noting that the lion's share of companies offering customers to send out for 6 kopecks are unscrupulous suppliers who can otherwise be called fraudsters. Mailings ordered from such companies are not delivered in full to the end subscriber and may not even be sent at all. We support the amendments taken and all measures aimed at improving the market, as we advocate transparent work without fraud and gray schemes. Under the new conditions of the legislation, these unscrupulous suppliers are likely to disappear from the market, "says Shmelev Danila.
According to the forecast voiced by Devino Telecom Marketing Director Fadeev, the companies will pay more attention to personalized communications that will become more effective due to the reduction in the level of SMS SPAM. In 2015, the share of the company's budget will be increased, which will be spent on CRM technologies and SMS communications as an integral part of them. Focus on efficiency is the main trend in the modern world of SMS information.
After the amendments come into force, the rejection of unwanted mailing will become simple and transparent, the subscriber will not need to look for the real sender of illegal messages. Reducing the number of SPAM will lead to the fact that in the future subscribers will grow confidence in SMS communication.
Tele2 launched a free service to combat SMS spam
Tele2, an alternative mobile operator, announced in October 2014 the launch of a service to quickly and effectively combat unwanted text messages - Antispam-SMS. For the convenience of subscribers, Tele2 has created a service that allows you to quickly and simply refuse mailing from any number. It is enough for the operator's client to send a free message to 345, specifying in the text the name or number of the author of unwanted SMS (for example, + 79xxxxxxxxx or Taxi376).
The Antispam-SMS service began work on October 21, 2014, when amendments to the Law "On Communications" came into force aimed at combating unwanted mailings. From October 2013 to October 2014, the number of Tele2 subscribers' complaints about SMS spam halved. The operator has achieved such high results thanks to targeted work to protect customers from unwanted text messages.
The President signed amendments to the Law "On Communications" on the distribution of mobile radiotelephone communication network
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in July 2014 the law "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Communications'," which is aimed at protecting mobile network subscribers from spam.
The federal law defined the concept of "mailing over the mobile radiotelephone network" and its conditions, and also obliged the telecom operator to stop providing services for passing traffic containing mailing carried out in violation of the requirements provided for by the Federal Law (in the case of mailing SMS messages to their numbers, to which subscribers did not give direct consent.)
The federal law, developed with the participation of the Ministry of Communications, was adopted by the State Duma on July 2, 2014 and approved by the Federation Council on July 9, 2014. The law will come into force after 90 days from the date of its official publication.
The State Duma adopted in the 2nd reading amendments to the law "On Communications" against SMS spam
In July 2014, the State Duma approved in the second reading amendments to the law "On Communications," designed to limit the spread of SMS spam. The author of the document is former Senator Gattarov Ruslan State[3].
The bill provides that the organizer of mass mailings of SMS messages must conclude an appropriate direct agreement with the telecom operator, whose subscribers will receive such messages. Also, the distribution organizer must first obtain the consent of subscribers to participate in such a distribution.
Among the amendments to Reading II, it was proposed to receive permission from subscribers in writing, but lawmakers refused this. The consent of the subscriber will be considered actions "unambiguously identifying him and allowing to reliably establish the fact of his will."
If the customer or telecom operator initiated such a distribution and cannot prove the consent of subscribers to receive messages, then such a distribution will be considered illegal. Cellular operators will also have to stop providing traffic transit services if they are used for illegal mailings.
Exceptions are allowed for service messages from cellular operators (for example, with information about a number change or transmitted under inter-operator roaming agreements), as well as for messages sent in the interests of state authorities.
For his part, the subscriber may require his operator to block him from receiving a particular distribution. The original version of the bill said that for this the subscriber would need to indicate the customer of the distribution or the identifiers of its senders.
After reading II, the norm about the distribution customer disappeared: the blocking of the distribution can be carried out by the IDs of the numbers from which it is carried out. But, in accordance with one of the adopted amendments, the operator is obliged to provide a service to the subscriber to block mailings free of charge.
A bill to combat SMS spam has been submitted to the State Duma
Ruslan Gattarov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on legislation, head of the commission for the development of the information society, introduced a bill to the State Duma aimed at combating SMS spam, RIA Novosti reports.
According to Gattarov, the bill contains three main measures to combat spam: it gives telecom operators the opportunity not to skip spam mailings (now they do not have such a right), allows only those mailings to which the subscriber agreed, and also creates a feedback mechanism for citizens - from now on, anyone who receives spam via SMS can contact the operator and block the delivery of messages from this number. The bill was first considered at a meeting of the Federation Council commission on the development of the information society on November 27, and after that it was finalized with the participation of telecom operators and experts.
"SMS spam has acquired the character of an epidemic in Russia. According to antivirus companies, up to 76% of Russians receive spam in mobile messages, and the vast majority of them are negative about such mailings, "the senator notes. According to information from MTS alone, in October 2013, the company received almost 2.5 billion SMS for delivery, generated programmatically and mainly containing advertising information, gave the example of Gattars.
MTS has created a single number to refuse SMS advertising
To refuse to receive messages, it is enough for the subscriber to send from his phone or smartphone SMS to 4424, specifying the off command and the number to be blocked in the message. The introduction of the service became possible with the adoption of amendments to the law "On Communications" to combat SMS spam, which entered into force on October 21, 2014. In addition to sending SMS to the number 4424, the subscriber can refuse to receive SMS mailings by applying to the communication salon. MTS
MegaFon launches SMS control service
Since May 2014, MegaFon has offered to use the SMS control service, with the help of which it is easy and easy to protect yourself from unwanted messages. The service allows you to independently unsubscribe from advertising and service mailings from letter and character numbers, adding senders to the "black list." The SMS control service is free and as easy to manage as possible. By dialing the * 903# command on the phone, the client gets access to the last ten numbers from which messages came. Any of these numbers can be blacklisted in two clicks. Management of the created list is available at any time, and if a number got into it by mistake, the number can be quickly unlocked. Thus, you can choose for yourself which SMS messages and from whom you want to receive.
"Amendments to the law" On Communications "will help us strengthen the effectiveness of combating mobile spam. Despite the successes achieved in this area, we have where to develop. Especially expected were amendments related to the ability to block unwanted spam mailings from subscriber numbers of other networks, - explains Sergey Khrenov, director of fraud prevention. - Now our customers have all the necessary capabilities to protect against spam. If the subscriber has previously agreed to an advertising newsletter, for example, from a fitness club, restaurant or car center, and no longer wants to receive it, he can turn it off on his own using the SMS control service. If this is an inconsistent newsletter, we must take measures to block it, no matter what numbers this newsletter comes from. "
In addition, a hotline continues to work at the free short number "1911," sending to which an advertising or other unexpected message a subscriber can inform the operator about spam or fraud. It is also always possible to contact the contact center and ask to block the delivery of messages from a specific service.
VimpelCom uses SMS spam filtering system
According to Kirill Kotov, executive director of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of VimpelCom OJSC (Beeline brand), all SMS mailings can be divided into legal and illegal. In the first case, when buying a product or service, the buyer voluntarily indicates his phone number in the questionnaire, agreeing to receive advertising messages. It is quite another matter when advertising SMS from companies with which the subscriber has nothing to do with the phone come to the phone.
In the first case, the advertiser turns to large SMS aggregators that have an agreement with a cellular operator and this is an absolutely legal service. If it is planned to send out without the consent of the subscriber, advertisers turn either to small SMS aggregators or to small regional operators who send out for less money without being interested in the consent of subscribers.
At the end of 2013, VimpelCom OJSC (Beeline brand) initiated the creation of an anti-SPAM alliance of 8 large SMS aggregators that control 80% of the SMS market in Russia. In 2014, the company installed an SMS-SPAM filtering system, which made it possible to reduce the number of spam messages by 1 subscriber by 12 times.
"After the amendments to the Law" On Communications "come into force, the operator has an absolutely legal justification not to allow SMS-SPAM to its subscribers," Kirill Kotov emphasized. He also noted that in the company VimpelCom OJSC (Beeline brand) cases of commercial mailings that are not coordinated with subscribers are suppressed. All contracts of the company with SMS aggregators state that mailing messages are carried out only by agreement of subscribers.
2013
76% of users suffer from mobile spam
blockquote > 78% of Russian users suffer from mobile spam. In 2013, 76% of users complained about advertising SMS mailings and calls. According to ESET, in the summer of 2014, two-thirds of users (61% of respondents) receive mobile SMS-spam, another 3% receive advertising calls, and 14% regularly face both problems. Only 22% of respondents reported that spammers do not bother them at all. At the same time, as respondents noted in the comments, the absence of spam can be both a merit of mobile operators filtering mass SMS mailings, and the users themselves who installed a mobile antivirus with the Antispam function on smartphones.</blockquote>
According to unofficial data, 90-95% of all SMS spam goes through regional operators. They keep the market, thanks to low prices and the ability to send so-called white spam without the consent of subscribers. Some telecommunications companies are ready to offer a cost of 2.5 kopecks per message (depending on the amount of traffic), while the average cost of such channels is 3-5 kopecks. Indirect connection allows regional operators to protect their customers from a fabulous fine, even if the customer cannot provide or prove the consent of the subscriber to send him SMS messages. However, this does not mean at all that fraudulent mailings launched through indirect channels will go unpunished, there will also be a fine for them.
MTS changes the format of work with SMS distributors
From December 2, 2013, MTS switched to a new format of work with distributors of information and advertising SMS - the distribution of such messages included in the MTS network with short and alphanumeric numbers was transferred to direct contracts, under which the operator was able to verify the subscriber's consent to receive advertising.
Tele2 tightens work with SMS distributors
Since November 2013, Tele2 began blocking unauthorized mailings from alphanumeric names of senders whose owners did not enter into an agreement with an operator or SMS aggregator that is a Tele2 partner. This measure helped to ensure high-quality message filtering and maximum protection of subscribers from spam. In addition, the operator offers customers the Black List service, which allows users to independently protect themselves from annoying calls and SMS. The subscriber can list not only unwanted short numbers, text signatures of senders, but also DEF numbers of individual subscribers.
Megafon is the first to introduce requirements for SMS mailings
In 2013, MegaFon was the first of the Big Three operators to decide to introduce regulations and requirements for SMS mailing to subscribers. Realizing that there are SMS messages from banks and other financial organizations that are legally obliged to inform customers about transactions and transmit additional transaction confirmation codes, the operator implemented a special solution for banks that allows you to effectively allocate a stream of such messages to a separate block.
Special attention was paid to blocking unwanted traffic. An automated system for collecting and analyzing spam claims was introduced. Thanks to this system, in particular, we managed to protect our subscribers from a significant number of unwanted messages.
In the general flow of unsolicited mailings for subscribers, there were not only advertising mailings, but also various fraudulent messages, including links to malware, the download of which led to a loss of money from both mobile and bank accounts.
On average, about 2.5 thousand complaints from subscribers about spam mailings are received per day on the hotline (free number "1911") and through other communication channels.
Practice has shown that spammers are constantly striving to bypass restrictions on the part of operators and are looking for new options for sending unwanted SMS to a subscriber, such as, for example, sending messages with substitution of regular subscriber numbers (DEF numbers) or using SMS centers in African countries. According to statistics, currently more than 90% of our customers' complaints about spam come from mailings from subscriber numbers of other operators. Therefore, the company, in an effort to provide real protection to its customers, is also constantly improving its anti-spam mechanisms.
2012
MTS launches Antispam system
In 2012, MTS launched the automated Antispam system, which detects and blocks fraudulent SMS mailings, developed the Black List service for self-blocking SMS messages and calls from any numbers, and opened the short number 1911 to send subscribers' complaints about spam and fraud.
FAS explains how to deal with unsolicited SMS-mailing
In connection with numerous requests from subscribers, the St. Petersburg Department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in December 2012 clarified the procedure for filing complaints against telecom operators for unauthorized SMS advertising.
To resolve this issue, the St. Petersburg OFAS recommends that before contacting the antimonopoly service, send a written refusal by mail to its mobile operator with a receipt of receipt. An email is not evidence of receipt by the appropriate person. Another, more reliable option is to draw up a written refusal in two copies addressed to the head of the company, the first copy must be handed over personally to the representative at the company office, and put the incoming number or signature of the official on your copy.
If there is no response within the established period and continued receipt of advertising, you should apply to the OFAS. The application must include a copy of the appeal to the mobile operator, photos of advertising messages from the mobile phone screen, a printout of messages received from the telecom operator and a copy of the contract with the mobile operator.
The refusal to receive advertising is provided for by the "Terms of Communication Services" posted by each operator as a public offer on official websites. The Subscriber agrees for the entire term of the contract on the provision of communication services signed by the parties to receive advertising when using communication services, but he may refuse advertising at any time.
Meeting in Roskomnadzor on blocking SMS spam
In February 2012, Roskomnadzor held a meeting on the adoption by mobile operators of additional measures aimed at reducing the number of subscribers' complaints about content provider services. The meeting was attended by representatives of Roskomnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, mobile operators MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom.
According to Roskomnadzor, the share of complaints about the services of content providers provided, including through short numbers, is approximately 30% of the total number of complaints about mobile communications. Citizens complain mainly about the provision of additional services without their consent, without warning about the amount of the fee, as well as about the write-off of funds for non-provided services.
The meeting participants recognized that a significant adjustment of the regulatory legal framework is necessary, since this problem is unsolvable only by mobile operators. Roskomnadzor believes that some of the issues will be resolved after the approval of the new version of the Rules for the Provision of Mobile Communications Services, which is in the final stage of approval, but this will not be enough to finally solve the problem.
Representatives of the "K" department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia believe that an effective measure in the fight against SMS spammers could be to toughen the punishment for such crimes and transfer it from administrative to criminal with a prison term of up to five years or more.
Antispam technology
Main article: Antispam technology
Notes
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