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Cell phone users receive 300b spam messages in 2008

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-07 16:53

Every mobile phone subscriber in China was receiving 10 spam text messages each week on average as of the end of 2008, despite the government and operators' continuing anti-spam efforts, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The figure in 2007 was 13. As China has roughly 624 million cell phone users, it can be estimated that more than 300 billion spam messages were produced in 2008.

Fraudulent messages designed to get people to give out their financial information or remit money have been a popular tool to cheat mobile phone users in China.

According to the ministry, most of the spam messages involve selling promotion for real estate, retailing, traffic and tourism industries. They often lure users by giving them electronic coupons or claiming they have won a prize.

One popular spam message reads: "Dad, my money and clothes were all stolen. Please send 500 yuan to account number 6228 **** **** * *** under the Agricultural Bank of China. The name of the account holder is Liu Shenhua. This is his cell phone number. Please be quick!"

In China, call service usually charges higher than the Short Message Service (SMS). Many subscribers, especially students, use SMS as their main communication method.

These annoying and deceptive spam messages cause millions of complaints to the Internet Society of China (ISC), China's Internet watchdog, every month.

In June, the ISC officially set up the country's first anti-spam text message alliance to address the long-time headache for the country's mobile phone users.

More than 30 companies have signed the ISC's self-discipline pact on anti-spam text messages. These included China Mobile, the nation's largest mobile phone operator, China Unicom and leading portal Web sites such as Sina.com.

Huang Chengqing, secretary-general of the ISC, said, "Companies should follow their social responsibilities, providing convenient and clean services for the public."

China has the biggest telecom network worldwide with 977 million phone users as of September, including 624 million cell phone users and 353 million fixed phone customers. There are 253 million Internet users.