Telco Spams and Gets Huge Fine 190
jack_call writes "According to The Register the large German based mobilephone operator 'Debitel' was fined $359000 for (deliberately!) sending a total 48000 spam messages( mail: 36000, sms: 12000) to Danish costumers of rival company 'Telmore'. According to different Danish media outlets, they appealed immediately, mostly because the fine comes out at about a sixth of what 'Debitel' made last fiscal year after taxes."
Competition? (Score:2, Insightful)
1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:4, Insightful)
And I say put the money towards going after more spammers. Build up the momentum these cases provide.
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:2, Insightful)
A Multiplayer Strategy Game [sillysoft.net] for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
Look who's spamming II, silly
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:3, Funny)
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:2)
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:5, Insightful)
Companies should get a simple message - break the law and there will be serious penalties, not some small slap on the wrist that means that you can almost cost it in as an acceptable and calculable risk.
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:2)
I remember a story my high school history teacher told the class: Campbell's used to run ads, where they said "Campbell's Tomato Soup tastes better than (Hunts? some competitor, I don't remember) because it has more tomatoes per can of soup."
The other company complained and/or sued, because this wasn't true. Campbell's was fined for false advertising.
However, this advertising campaign w
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:2)
$200 fine, 10% chance of getting a ticket, average cost for parking there, $20. I know airport parking places that charge less. And I think that 10% is high.
Re:1/6 is 5/6 too few (Score:2)
Considering that they had a total revenue of nearly 3 billion US-$ [debitel.ag] in 2003, they don't really "make good money".
Debitel is the largest mobile phone service reseller in Germany. They used to be a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler, no less.
Accidental (Score:4, Funny)
Your honor, I accidentally gathered a massive mailing list, sat around many meetings working out what to say, and finally clicked send - all totally accidentally. I thought I was sending my mother some flowers over the internet, honestly I did.
Re:Accidental (Score:1)
Re:Accidental (Score:2, Insightful)
In India too (Score:5, Interesting)
If I want to know about some offer, I will ask. Thank you.
Was thinking of writing to a newspaper, but that idea got lost somewhere in a mire of laziness
Re:In India too (Score:5, Funny)
What's worse? What's worse? I'll tell you what's worse! I used to get those calls all the time. Now I don't get them at all. I need those calls! I'm a socially inept nerd who desperately needs human contact. Now they go and outsource my only source of human contact to India? Take my job, but don't take away my phone spam, too!
Re:In India too (Score:5, Informative)
Re:In India too (Score:1)
At least it's something. Something... anything... I need it....
Re:In India too (Score:2, Informative)
Re:In India too (Score:2)
Re:In India too (Score:2)
Re:In India too (Score:2)
Re:In India too (Score:1, Interesting)
demand for them to tell you were they got your infomation from that will shut them the fuck up.
What about the spam, (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What about the spam, (Score:1)
Don't like it? Don't sign up with them.
Re:What about the spam, (Score:2)
TANSTAAFL [wikipedia.org], baby. Heinlein had it right. Never forget: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. If you think it's free, that's just because they're hiding what it really costs.
Ah ha (Score:5, Funny)
costumers (Score:2, Funny)
Re:costumers (Score:2)
Telesales (Score:5, Insightful)
Not a single day goes by when I'm not phoned up by some mechanical phonedialer/call centre and asked if I'd like to buy double glazing/dial a premium line/order jam. Arrrgh!!
And don't tell me to go ex-directory. I want my friends to find me in the phonebook if they need to thanks.
Re:Telesales (Score:5, Informative)
In Denmark telesales are illegal except for a few product groups (mainly newspapers). You can opt out of those as well.
Telesales to companies are legal though.
Re:Telesales (Score:1)
Re:Telesales (Score:5, Interesting)
(That's a serious question, as it's such an obvious solution that people *must* have thought of it, so there's got to be a reason why that doesn't work)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Telesales (Score:5, Interesting)
You seem to be in the UK, so... Are you registered with the TPS [tpsonline.org.uk]? If not do so. It only cuts out the semi-legitimate ones, but that is a supprisingly proportion, got me doen from one every day or so to one every week.
Then make sure you have caller ID and don't answer calls from hidden numbers (unless you work at home and use that line for work, in which case you have to take your chances in working hours. Sigh!). Your friends shouldn't be hiding their identity from you, so this filters out almost all of the rest of the telesales and `surveys'.
Re:Telesales (Score:1)
Re:Telesales (Score:1)
I *sometimes* have had telemarketers calling to my place, but not for a long time now. Maybe it's because it's illegal in France to sell your customer's database informations (name, phone, interrests, e
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
I think we were all talking about landlines. I believe (from the TPS web site) that SMS marketing spam is illegal EU-wide (the UK legislation they talk about is an implementation of an EU rule). I do occasionally get what is clearly SMS spam, but I suspect they are tip-toeing around the edge of the rules -- ``it's not sales, it's <WHATEVER>''.
I can't remember any voice spam to my mobile either. I suspect the call cost is just enough higher to
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
Re:Telesales (Score:2, Funny)
A small danish company has practiacally turned rejecting salespeople into an artform, as explained on a website of theirs: We Do Not Use... [wedonotuse.com]
Re:Telesales (Score:4, Funny)
However sometimes you just need a button to push which gives the caller an electric shock.
Telesales: Good afternoon sir are you x?
Me:Go AWAY!! *BUZZzzzzzzzT*
Telesales: aaarrgh!
Re:Telesales (Score:3, Funny)
T: HI! I'd like to sell you some useless cr-
Me: FWOOOOOOOOONK!
T: *silence cos their brains just blew out the other side of their head*
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
"Please hold"
-Alternate hold button leading to tape loop of "Goldfish Warning".
Guaranteed insanity in 30 seconds or less or your money back.
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
Also be sure to fuck with the bastards.
One of my regulars has been a holliday scam run by some very very dim people. I left the phone off the hook and their taped message happily talked on and on. My record with them was nearly 30 minutes. Even if they get tehir calls cheap, I am stopping someone else being botherred on that outgoing line.
Another was a south african lot trying to get me to go to some sales operat
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
I left the phone off the hook and their taped message happily talked on and on. My record with them was nearly 30 minutes.
My favorite was when I got a telemarketing call and they wouldn't tell me their address. I've never been 100% sure it is a requirement for them to tell me where they are, but I claimed it was. I would just hang on the line until they told me. They tried hanging up, but their phone system wouldn't drop the call. After 10 seconds, someone picked up the phone. There'd be silence, then yo
Re:Telesales (Score:1)
Re:Telesales (Score:4, Informative)
Penalties: Fines or prison up to 1 year. These actually happen too. This week a company sending spam got a deadling of march 26th 12:00 for providing proof that 5 persons (including me) had given prior, informed consent to receiving marketing-email. If they fail to do so they'll receive a fine of around $10.000.
Re:Telesales (Score:2)
Well if you're in the UK then you're in luck: the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) [tpsonline.org.uk] is remarkably effective, or at least has been for me.
Recommended by a friend who works at a local telecoms firm, I was rather sceptical but surprisingly it's cut out ALL of those annoying Sunday morning pre-recorded messages, and we've not had a single marketing call since (touch wood!). I signed up work's fax number, too, and we've seen a massive reduction in junk faxes - esp. those premium-rate joke/vote/prank ones. It
And they got off easy ... (Score:5, Informative)
It's worth noting that previous spam fines in Denmark have been much higher. Around 15USD per e-mail/SMS/whatever.
But still, it's a good part of Debitel's yearly income.
zRe:And they got off easy ... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:And they got off easy ... (Score:4, Insightful)
But I think what was meant was that in terms of per email cost, it is lower than previous spam fines.
Re:And they got off easy ... (Score:2)
Re:And they got off easy ... (Score:2)
Sure it was the biggest fine the EU have ever given out to a company but what does 500 million count to a company which has however many 10's of billions sitting around in the bank.
Its an ironic problem really. The more companies act unscrupulously means the more money they have available to pay of the fines for that bad behaviour.
Good job i say (Score:1)
I for one is more happy now that i know it cost them that much to spam my mobile phone like that. I was pissed off when i get the spam and for once somebody gets to pay when they misuse my time. Now if only someone had the balls to go for big time spammers
A thought (Score:5, Funny)
With all that said, there is one way to get rid of telemarketers that is funny and polite.
Telemarketer: Hello, may I speak to whomever is in charge of chosing telephone service?
You: Yes, this is him.
T: Great, would you be interested in lowering your monthly telephone bill? If you switch to A&G telco service, I can offer you a great, low rate.
Y: We don't have telephone service in my house, or telephones.
T: Surely you must, sir. How are we having this converstaion?
Y: That's a good question. But I can assure you we don't have telephone service.
T: Are you sure.
Y: Positively.
T: Alright then... Uh, sorry to bother you.
You could say this for anything they're selling. "Sorry, we don't have ______." They'll almost always be confused and just apologize and hang up.
Re:A thought (Score:3, Informative)
Its here [wedonotuse.com]
Re:A thought (Score:5, Funny)
A neat one. Here is another: (Score:2)
Five minutes later the phone rang. It was the DG salesman calling back to tell me "You are a bastard." Thi
Re:A thought (Score:3, Funny)
Y: We don't have telephone service in my house, or telephones.
T: Surely you must, sir. How are we having this conversation?
Y: Voices in my head.
T: Sorry?
Y: The telephone company came and took away all the phones. Now they send all calls directly as voices in my head. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the telephone voices from the ones informing me that Queen Elizabeth is a reptile who must be stopped. What type are you?
T: Huh? I'm sorr...
Y: If you're not one of us, you're one of the
Re:A thought (Score:3, Interesting)
Telemarketer: Hello, may I speak to whomever is...
You: [click]
But then they'll call back. (Score:3, Informative)
Screw that. (Score:4, Insightful)
Fuck 'em. I don't care if they need the money, they are being paid to waste my time, and I will abuse them, waste their time, annoy them, in whatever way I can. And that includes your mother.
Justin.
Re:Screw that. (Score:5, Insightful)
Fuck 'em. I don't care if they need the money, they are being paid to waste my time, and I will abuse them, waste their time, annoy them, in whatever way I can
I always figured it was my job to contribute to the downfall of the telemarketing industry. If I abused someone enough, maybe they would get out of the business. If enough people refused to work in the industry, there would be fewer callers. Just doing my part. I only wish others would do theirs.
Re:Screw that. (Score:3, Interesting)
Given that there are people (who are often about equally well-paid) who are still willing to work at McDonald's, I'm not sure how you can make the telemarketing experience sufficiently unpleasant.
Incidentally, do you abuse everyone who does things that annoy you, or are you just a sociopath on the telephone where they can't smack you upside the head for be
Re:Screw that. (Score:2)
Re:Screw that. (Score:2)
Incidentally, do you abuse everyone who does things that annoy you, or are you just a sociopath on the telephone where they can't smack you upside the head for being an asshole?
If someone doesn't bother me, I don't bother them. If they bother me in my home trying to sell me something when I haven't done anything to make them think I'm interested, yes, I'll be an asshole. That's THEIR problem for bothering me. If they go out of their way to get into my space and make themselves a bother, I have no problem
Re:A thought (Score:2, Funny)
Nine times out of ten they'll sheepishly apologise for bothering me. I'm not sure why this works so well but I think it's because everyone is basically aware that you'll never get what you want by talking to a Technical Support Hotline, so they feel stupid for calling.
Re:A thought (Score:2)
-
Good. (Score:5, Insightful)
I live in fear of this happening on a large scale in the United States. In a country where we pay (at this point) for incoming calls, I'm just waiting for the deluge of spam messages and telemarketer phone calls to appear on my cellular phone.
I own a small business, and our fax machine has virtually been made useless by the junk faxes we get every month. I promise you, we spend more on incoming faxes (ink, paper) than we do on outgoing faxes, none of which we ever "intentionally" signed up for. And the junk-fax companies have the balls to say "we're only making a living" ??? Please.
Destroy these people before they destroy another technology.
Re:Good. (Score:1)
Re:Good. (Score:2)
Re:Good. (Score:2)
It is. However the lawyer cost to collect is more than the amount you gain. Thus nothing happens despite it being illegal.
However that should not stop you. The first few times it costs you, but if you keep it up you can put them out of business (they have to pay their lawyers too), and that helps everyone. Or at least everyone with a fax machine which is nobody.
Re:Good. (Score:2)
The trick is, are you aware of the law, can you track down the business that sent you the fax, and do they have any assets? Can you even collect from them? Places that still send out junk faxes are mostly fly by night companies.
Re:Good. (Score:2)
Only true if you are a individual working for yourself. If you are a company you need a lawyer anyway. I don't know many individuals with a fax machine. I don't know many companies without.
Re:Good. (Score:2)
Fortunately it is illegal in the US to make telemarketing calls to cellphones.
Re:Good. (Score:1)
Next time I get one of the hundreds "Invest in this penny stock" junk faxes, I'll look for the "unsubscribe" number, which clearly says "call me to confirm that you want to get faxes for the rest of your life"
I get lots of unsolicited "make your dick hard" emails, too...but I don't think they really care if I unsubscribe to their email lists, either...
Re:Good. (Score:2)
They're going to be sending lots of faxes to public pay phones, then....
Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:5, Interesting)
This moron gets on at a station, and quite obviously reads, and decides to ignore the notices, and makes about a dozen calls to people which I didn't want to listen to. However, it became quite obvious that this person was engaged in a mobile/SMS/MMS marketing campaign, and various other things he said suggested 'spammer'.
Of course, rule #3 states that spammers are stupid, and this one was no exception. He rattled off at great length a list of sites, usernames, and passwords for various SMS distribution services.
I pulled out my newspaper and pretended to do the crossword, writing down every group of site, username, and passwords. I have not done anything with them yet, but I'm sorely tempted. However, as my handsets are all registered with the TPS (the UK equivalent of the FTC do-not-call lists), I'll wait for a marketing SMS to be crapped into my phone before being tempted further.
If you are 'evileye' (what a stupid username), you might be more careful about where you use your mobile next time..
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:3, Insightful)
But if some AC was also in the smae carriage and posted the list to
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:5, Interesting)
Please, always, always, always, ask people to stop when they talk on their phones. I have asked loads of people, and about 90% have apologised immediately. The best bit is when someone argues with you, and the other commuters back you up
In the worst case, the guard will tell them to stop if you ask him/her to.
Justin.
Silence Nazi
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:2)
J.
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:2)
Did you have guards on the trains pre 9/11?
It just seems really excessive to me to have guards on trains.
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:2)
J.
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:2)
That said, the guard on this service didn't appear once during the entire journey (and I was on the train from Portsmouth Harbour). However, "Daniel", the 'steward', who kept promising that he'd be wheeling a trolley t
Re:Ethics relating to SMS Spamming (Score:3, Funny)
Says a guy calling himself 'caveman'...
Sidenote (Score:2)
Well, they "re-districted" that and combined the office cabin and quiet cabin. Quiet office? Heh.
They abandoned the concept.
Fines for SMS spam should be higher (Score:2, Interesting)
Why? SMS spam causes more hassle. Think about it. Many people will want to see the message immediately, drag the phone out, poke at those tiny little buttons, squint at the menus etc. At least email spam can be seen and deleted almost immediately (if it even gets thru the spam filters)
In this case, AFAIK, the same charge was levied regardless.
Re:Fines for SMS spam should be higher (Score:2)
And with many companies (Score:2)
In other NON news... (Score:1)
They said it was a "joke" (Score:3, Funny)
Apparently the judge had no sense of humor...
Talking about telephone and spam... (Score:1)
I unfortunatley bit in the site and signed... and yet more unfortunatley was that I gave permission to send request to all my contacts (yes... I am guilty, I use MSN messenger service).
Now, that site has what I call SPAM, gosh! tons and tons of messages in my phone! and later it was by email...
thank god (Score:1, Interesting)
now if we could only get them indian call centers fined for calling peoples phone numbers and trying to trick them into moving to another company
i got called by one yesterday and i demanded to know were they got my infomation from (i have never given my phone number or address to them) you know what the fuckers said? that companys infomation is confidential wtf? what about my infomation i said. go
Costumers? (Score:2)
Private Postage (Score:2)
Cost of doing business? (Score:2)
Re:Lots of money! (Score:2)
Therefore, other than the time wasted in reading the messages, it probably didn't cost the customers anything.
Re:Lots of money! (Score:2)
Re:Large? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:not cheap (Score:2, Informative)
The standard rate in Denmark is approx. $18 (100 DKK) per message. But the poewrs that be (our government and it's institution) has opened up for discount in cases like this.
Debitel was offered a $180.000 (1.000.000 DKK) settlement over a year ago, but they decided, that they'd rather take it to court. That might have been a poor judgement from their management....
Re:Spam vs. Advertising (Score:2)