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Spam United States

Americans Are Drowning In Spam (axios.com) 134

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios: The average American received roughly 42 spam texts just in the month of March, according to new data from RoboKiller, an app that blocks spam calls and texts. Spammers like using text messages because of their high open rates -- and are now even mimicking targets' own phone numbers to get them to click malicious links, the New York Times reported. "Just like with robocalls, it's extremely easy to deploy [spam texts] in enormous volume and hide your identity," Will Maxson, assistant director of the FTC's division of marketing practices, told Axios. "There's a large number of actors all over the world trying to squeeze spam into the network from almost an infinite number of entry points all the time."

It's not just texts. Every form of spam is on the rise. There were more spam calls last month than in any of the previous six months, per YouMail's Robocall Index. Spam emails rose by 30% from 2020 to 2021, according to a January report from the Washington Post. There was an unprecedented increase in social media scams last year, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. Many scams were related to bogus cryptocurrency investments.

Experts attribute the sharp increase in spam to the pandemic. People's increased reliance on digital communications turned them into ready targets. The Federal Communications Commission saw a nearly 146% increase in the number of complaints about unwanted text messages in 2020. Americans reported losing $131 million to fraud schemes initiated by text in 2021, a jump over 50% from the year before, according to data from the FTC.

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Americans Are Drowning In Spam

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  • Thanks Ajit Pai! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jeff4747 ( 256583 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @07:36PM (#62458104)

    So good of you to kill all efforts to do anything about this at the FCC.

    Thanks to your tireless efforts, I'm frequently warned about the expiration of my car's extended warranty!

    • by goombah99 ( 560566 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @09:03PM (#62458252)

      I'd like it if sending someone a text, call, e-mail cost ten cents. The receiver would then have the option to take the ten cents after reading the call or do nothing in which case it would be refunded to the sender.

      Thus if you send your buddy a text he declines to take the ten cents but simply doing nothing. But if I get a spam, I just click the "take the ten cents" button beside the text.

      This would require some cleverness in billing systems but I think the easiest way to do this would be some new cryptocurrency stamp. You would buy stamps ahead of time. When you send a text it must go with an authenticatable stamp signature. All message relays just pass all this along simply checking that there's a stamp. They don't even have to check that every stamp is a valid one. May be only check one is a thousand. Just some minimal number.

      When the receiver gets the stamp, the the stamps clock is activated. The receiver has 1 day to either collect the stamp (because it's a crypto coin, collecting it can be distributed) for their own use. Or do nothing and the stamp reverts back to the original owner.

      This would take some new crypto engineering to make this kind of coin but it seems doable. It would also require that processing the collections be cheap.

      • by narcc ( 412956 )

        That would put a quick end to those assholes who write "Great, thanks!" after hitting "reply to all" on an email sent by another asshole who somehow managed to stuff the entire company directory into the CC field.

      • I'd like it if sending someone a text, call, e-mail cost ten cents.

        I work for a company that sends automated texts. It does cost money. And we have to be VERY careful about op-ins and op-outs or our gateway provider will ban us. It's not like email.

        How these spammers get away with it, I don't know.

        Tip: Reply with "stop" and any legitimate sender will respect your opt-out. Even more, our gateway provider will opt you out from ALL of their clients at once.

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        SMS text messages are not free. Your plan might come with "unlimited" text messages (fair use policy applies), but commercial customers have to pay per message.

        So if the idea is to disincentivise spam texts by creating an additional cost, talk to the networks about raising their prices.

    • I'm very much in favor of legalizing the beating of spammers or anyone that's in favor of spammers (e.g. Ajit Pai). It should simply be legal to beat these people to death with whatever tools are at hand. Anyone that runs for office on that platform will get my vote.
      • Trouble is: You have to find them first.

        (And prove they're guilty before picking up the cudgel)

  • by Osgeld ( 1900440 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @07:40PM (#62458110)

    what kills me is I get a spam message from asdlkajfei@gmail.com and there's 27 other recipients and 10 fucktards reply back "who is this do I know you"

    STOPIT

    • by NFN_NLN ( 633283 )

      who dis?

    • People are stupid.

    • If I "know" the sender, I'll usually warn them (via the phone) that someone is taking their name in vain. Worst case, they answered a phishing message with their password and subsequently lost control of their email address. Two people I know made this mistake, I then got panic messages from "them" claiming they had been arrested in country xyz and needed $x000 to make bail.
      Both knew they had lost control of their email, only one of them knew what was being sent out in their name.

  • by Virtucon ( 127420 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @07:45PM (#62458120)

    I get between 20 to 40 spam e-mails a day and I still manage to get one or two calls that NoMoreRobo doesn't catch, usually from hijacked or anonymous numbers with local area codes. It's a bad problem and it needs to be stopped, how to stop it is another matter.

    • I get between 20 to 40 spam e-mails a day and I still manage to get one or two calls that NoMoreRobo doesn't catch, usually from hijacked or anonymous numbers with local area codes. It's a bad problem and it needs to be stopped, how to stop it is another matter.

      Google does an amazingly good job of filtering the calls and SMS messages out so that you don't see them, at least on a Pixel device.

      • The 20 to 40 spam e-mails are from a gmail account and have been winnowing its use down to the bare minimum. I use an Android cellphone.
        They're easy enough to spot, mostly phishing clickbait and yes the spam folder does get routinely full.

      • Strange, I have such a device, and still get the cold calls. Perhaps not as many as I would otherwise, but I still get them.

        • Strange, I have such a device, and still get the cold calls. Perhaps not as many as I would otherwise, but I still get them.

          Check the settings. It's possible you're especially unlucky, but more than likely you don't have it set up the way I do.
          Also, I have do not disturb silencing any number I don't know. But I've done that for years, and is outside of the google filtering.

      • Google does an amazingly good job of filtering the calls and SMS messages out so that you don't see them, at least on a Pixel device.

        Problem: You have to let google read all your email if you want that service.

        • Google does an amazingly good job of filtering the calls and SMS messages out so that you don't see them, at least on a Pixel device.

          Problem: You have to let google read all your email if you want that service.

          No: I wasn't talking about email. I'm talking about calls and texts.

    • by SirSlud ( 67381 )

      Don't think there's anyway to do this until the internet is deanonymized more than it currently is. At some point, the value of federated identities will outweigh the value of the (relative) anonymization we take for granted.

      There are just too many groups, both private and corporate, who are able to weaponize increasingly automated information dissemination and gathering. The shitshow AI generated [mis]information on behalf of vested industries, nation states, etcs with the knowledge and means to deploy the

    • I get a large number of SMS text messages now too and it started at the same time as Russia started the invasion of Ukraine.

      My conclusion is that Russia needs money.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I get between 20 to 40 spam e-mails a day and I still manage to get one or two calls that NoMoreRobo doesn't catch, usually from hijacked or anonymous numbers with local area codes. It's a bad problem and it needs to be stopped, how to stop it is another matter.

      It's almost never from a hijacked number, but VoIP providers.

      On one hand, it's ultra convenient - my work transitioned from traditional landlines to VoIP and now we can text and answer the call from our desk phone or a soft phone on the PC (working r

    • by mjwx ( 966435 )

      I get between 20 to 40 spam e-mails a day and I still manage to get one or two calls that NoMoreRobo doesn't catch, usually from hijacked or anonymous numbers with local area codes. It's a bad problem and it needs to be stopped, how to stop it is another matter.

      Erm... how to stop it is very easy. Make the phone companies liable for allowing automated diallers.

      That is what just about every other developed nation has done and we get very few spam calls/texts (I've lived in the UK as well as Australia, if you'd like context).

      • My sister abandoned her land line a few months ago after using it for 30 years, virtually all of the calls she got were robo calls and we all had her mobile number anyway. She lives in the UK.
        You are pushing "Security through obscurity" - no robo caller had your number so you think the problem has been solved.

    • by Tom ( 822 )

      It's a bad problem and it needs to be stopped, how to stop it is another matter.

      The rest of the world has figured it out. I have NEVER received a robo spam call in my life, not once. And the only telemarketer calls I ever got were from some silly lottery stuff at some fairs that my GF wanted to participate in and telling them to not call again worked.

      There's a thing called "laws" that we use to regulate what's allowed and what isn't. I think you have something similar over there. Maybe try using it? ;-)

  • America isn't a country, but a continent...
  • I've noticed less spam, but a greater amount of didn't-mean-that-yes-I-did false-positive spam filtering. https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.16743 [arxiv.org]

  • by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @07:56PM (#62458156)

    A penny per recipient might put a dent in it, without adversely affecting legitimate senders.

    Use the raised funds to prosecute robocallers.

  • Lol, no? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by apoc.famine ( 621563 ) <apoc.famine@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Monday April 18, 2022 @08:08PM (#62458180) Journal

    I got zero spam texts over the last year.

    Why?

    Because I don't give my number out to anyone who doesn't absolutely need it. I read the TOC and I check off the "don't share my shit" bit, or I don't subscribe if that's not there.

    Spammers are the worst, but giving everyone under the sun your number with no way to determine who can't be trusted with it is the root cause. We need to be able to create temporary numbers for dodgy shit, if a phone number is going to be required by everyone under the sun.

    • I run several businesses. The phone numbers have been published everywhere for 30 years. I cannot ignore any calls. I get 10-30 spam phone call M-F. Surprisingly I get maybe one call on the weekend.

      Email I get 50-100 spams per day.

      Texts I get 1 or 2 per week. It helps that the 2 phone numbers that forward to my cell are former land-lines and do not accept texts.

      I've noticed that phone spam has gotten so bad that most people no longer answer their phone. You would think that should be enough for the US

      • Garbage businesses with sleazy practices probably tend to donate and lobby more than legitimate businesses with less concerns that their business activity is going to get regulated.

        I also think that Republicans are worse in this realm because their "pro business" and "anti-regulation" mindset lends itself to hucksterism and deception masking as "sales".

    • I'm a bit surprised at that. A lot of these spammers don't appear to use lists, and instead just blindly blast out spam to blocks of phone numbers. The phone number space isn't that large compared to the number of phones, so there's already a pretty good chance that any random phone number is valid. So you can pretty much expect any phone that's connected to the network to get at least some spam texts/calls even if it's otherwise completely unlisted.

      I will add though that all this spam texting is relativ

    • by gTsiros ( 205624 )

      here's some information about greece
      phone numbers are 10 digits
      first two digits for mobiles are '69'
      so 8 digits
      There are (let's be generous) 10 options for the first two digits, they are an identifier for the carrier and they are all known.
      so there are 10,000,000 numbers for a country of 10,000,000 people

      even if half of us have a mobile, it's a 50-50 chance a random mobile number belongs to someone

      in short, it does not matter if you give your number out or not

    • I don't give my number out to anyone who doesn't absolutely need it.

      Trouble is, you can't register on a lot of legitimate sites without giving contact details. Having said that, my experience is similar to yours: not much of what I would call spam. Even if just one of these legitimate sites should leak my contact details, then that is all the material the spammers need.

      Another likely reason that I don't get spam on my mobile phone is that I hardly ever use it. I have frequent loss of voice, so I don't tend to make or pick up calls. I do use texts, but I am not fluent with e

    • by Keick ( 252453 )

      Because I don't give my number out to anyone

      This is the the best first pass filter, but I've recently started using an awesome second pass filter. My android phone now lets me ignore all calls, or forward to voicemail, of any number who isn't in my phonebook. It also lets me treat local exchange numbers differently, which means they go to voicemail. At least then my phone doesn't ring, and I can deal with the person at my leasure. And thinks to the voice-to-text voicemail app, I don't even have to listen most of the time.

    • that's nice. I moved 5 years ago, and gave my phone number to the post office in order to set up mail forwarding. The US Post Office! Immediately after that, I started getting 3-5 spam calls a day, and it hasn't stopped since.

  • I have to keep my cell phone in DND with it set to allow people on my contact list to still ring. The ogolopy of phone companies have to have the power to actually deal with this better than they are. Who in the the hell in the USA, besides the phone companies maybe?, doesn't want them to deal with this better? Wasn't shaken/stir suppose to address people spoofing numbers?

    I will give gmail props for being quite amazing at filtering spam I suspect they are over 99% effective with almost no false positives in

    • If everyone contacts the FCC about this then they would be flooded with complaints.

      For snail mail junk there's info about the originator, so send a package to that company through snail mail with junk. Even figure out the management persons and make them know how you feel.

  • ...bogus calls and texts because, I suppose:

    (1) all of my texts go through google voice (even though it's semi-deprecated by google I guess they have some decent anti spam mechanism)

    (2) my actual native phone number is some weirdo number in Idaho I barely know and I block (using numbershield) all incoming numbers starting with that area code since I don't know anyone in Idaho

  • ...that the FCC was "cracking down" on all of this? You know, I think the solution must be to defund them even more! That'll teach those liberals over there! Sorry, wait, just got a text. Weird, I think I'm sized just fine? Hold on I have a call, apparently it's from me!! I'll get back to this later, I'm sure this is very important!...

  • I'd happily pay 1 cent for every email I sent if it greatly reduces spam. If it's nearly free to send crap, people will send crap. Most ad campaigns are not profitable at 1 cent per recipient. And it's easier to trace mass cheaters because there's a money trail.

    • And then a spammer figures out how to use your mail address and racks up a $10k bill.

    • How should this be implemented?
  • I have six active and some less active email edresses and I get ~12 spams/month average total.

    I think y'all doin sompin rong. Are you on social media? Do you subscribe to services? Do you give to charities? Are you a member of a church or other nonprofit organization (why do they sell you out?)?

    Think real hard before you give an edress to any commercial or non-profit organization. Consider using a disposable edress. Consider using an Apple Card for anonymous donations or transactions. Use some common sense-

    • The "problem", is the default "financial model" used by most internet services in the US.

      Unlike in say, Europe, where there are strong rules about using customer data for shenanigans, in the US, it is mostly open season.

      As such, the "Any money we can get, any way we can get, any time we can get" antics of modern business finance, seeks to exploit that, and you do NOT get options to *NOT* give out an email address, or *NOT* give out a phone number. Sometimes, they even verify that the information you provid

  • by Joe Decker ( 3806 ) on Monday April 18, 2022 @11:53PM (#62458466) Homepage

    ... and not one of them has defended spam as free speech.

    Curious.

    • ... not one of them has defended spam as free speech.

      That may be because the concept of free speech does not really apply to the spam problem. I am not an expert on the US constitution, but I thought the point about the right to free speech is to prevent government censoring opinions they don't like. In the case of spam, the spammers are presumably free to express their opinions. What they should not be free to do is communicate by means of spraying graffiti all over the internet.

  • ... using text messages because of their high open rates ...

    A phone call requires an immediate response while an SMS 'conversation' can be paused, then deleted. I suspect many people open individual conversations to perform a delete, instead of deleting it via the history list.

  • I do literally everything online. And zillions of companies have my cell #, mostly for 2 factor. There is no lack whatsoever of work, commercial, or personal communication in my electronic life.

    In a really bad month, I might get 4 - 5 spam texts. And one ... or two ... spam emails in my inbox.

    Who the heck are you people the article calls average, and what the heck do you do??

    • by xalqor ( 6762950 )

      I can't speak for anyone else but the last time I got a new number, I was getting up to 10 texts every DAY for whoever had that number before me (a lot of them were addressed to the same name).

      Because of all the spam I turned off my notifications but then I was missing real texts from people I know. So I found an open source SMS app, customized it to hide all texts and silence the corresponding notifications from unknown numbers.

  • Google Fi does a very good job of detecting spam texts and I leave my Do Not Disturb on all of the time, it only allows numbers in my contact list through. I have no issues with spam - If these were default settings for all phones, spam would pretty much disappear. I don't think regulations beyond requiring these be the default settings for all phones sold are needed - easier the get the limited number of cell phone manufacturers to do this than the unlimited number of spammers.
  • Weird that this is a problem. I have zero spam SMS on my phone and I've been using the same number for two decades and am not hiding it.

    Ah yes, I don't live in the USA. The rest of the world has laws against this shit. Maybe you could try that as well? Works for everyone else.

  • If you just relax, the viscosity of SPAM will keep you from sinking in far enough to drown.
  • Americans Are Drowning In Spain... why Spain? lol then I realised it was spam... not Spain.

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