Investigating Mobile Phone Spam

Corporations across the UAE are under investigation for allegedly spamming private mobile phone users with unwanted SMS text messages, confirms a high-level official.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) spokesman said the probe is examining the means by which private phone numbers were accessed by banks, retailers and other companies in the UAE.

When consumers sign a contract with telephone providers etisalat or du, at no point do they agree that their private numbers will be released publicly under any circumstances.

But with increasing intensity in recent months, mobile phone subscribers have fallen victim to unsolicited SMS messages during all hours of the day, the spokesman said – offering everything from low-interest loans and travel packages to satellite television offers.

"We are in the process of issuing a regulation regarding spam messages on mobile phones," the spokesman said in a telephone interview. "We’re trying to protect the privacy of consumers."

The probe and ensuing regulations could make it illegal for companies to canvass private numbers to drum up business.

He said that such a move by the TRA would be welcomed by mobile phone users who experience a barrage of unsolicited text messages.

The probe is being conducted "with the cooperation of etisalat and du", he said.

Amy Bright of Ras Al Khaimah complained to XPRESS that her phone hasn’t stopped ringing in the last couple of months despite her complaints to etisalat and a request to take her name off any telemarketing lists.

"It seems that I get a new message from some bank or travel agency or a computer store every few hours," she said. "It feels like there are more on my phone every day that goes by."

Bright believes the unwanted texts are a violation of her mobile phone contract.

"I don’t even give out my mobile number to people that I know at work so it is highly offensive to me that these companies believe they can disturb me on my private phone line," she said.

"The government should not only stop these companies, it should also punish them with heavy fines. This needs to stop," Bright said.

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