It was just a matter of time before spammers would try to exploit the fast growth of text- and email-enabled cell phones. The Washington Post picked up on the issue of text-message spam in this article earlier this week. While many of us are enjoying the benefits and convenience of BlackBerrys, iPhones and other SMS capable devices, scammers are already working hard on ways to get their unsolicited offers for questionable wares to our phones.

Email spam is already a huge nuisance and a significant drain on worker productivity. Getting spammed on your cell phone adds yet another dimension, as text messages cost the receiver money, often charged by the message.

“It’s so annoying because I get charged every time I get one, said Ryan Williams, 27, of Falls Church, Va., who receives half a dozen spam messages on a daily basis. They ask him to download ring tones, visit questionable sites over his phone’s Internet connection or urge him to subscribe to horoscopes or sports-score updates.”

Just like regular email, spam is only the beginning. Watch out for smishing – the SMS equivalent of phishing.  Some e-commerce and online banking services have started offering text messaging services for consumer interaction. I am using a service offered by my credit card company, which sends a text-message alert to my cell phone when certain charges exceed a preset limit. The crooks are now using similar, authentic looking text-messages to request personal information, such as social security numbers and account pin numbers.

Just remember, your bank would never make such requests.

Technorati Tags: sms spam, text-message spam, cell phone spam

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