Imagine getting one of those annoying calls from a telemarketer

on your cell phone and then being billed for answering the phone!

Sound absurd? It happens!

Example:

John receives a text message on his cell phone in January from a large company. It was an ad asking if he was interested in a credit card.

John calls large company and asks them to stop it. They sent him two more ads!! John files lawsuit against large company. Large company files countersuit.

For John the ads are a major pain; like junk faxes, which are illegal. But if your cell phone plan bills you for receiving text messages, like it or not, you'll pay to get those ads.

Large company owner doesn't mind if you foot the bill for his ads. He tells LARGE newspaper there's nothing wrong with what he does and says hundreds of people have responded to the messages.

"This is the new wave for marketing," he says. "It brings our message right to the people's doorstep." (what a SMUCK!)

Nation's largest trade organization for direct marketers sees it a tad differently.

Until the day arrives that cell phone companies stop billing users for incoming calls, marketers need to be very careful.

Cell phone spam is still fairly new and isn't yet considered a large problem. People in the industry think it began about 9 months ago and large companys are the most widespread example.

This problem could end up making a handy tool somewhat useless; at best -- annoying and costing you money!

We have to stop this in its tracks! NOONE I know is going to stand for this crap!

Cell phone companies say they're determined to nip cell-spam in

the bud. They don't want cell phone spam (???)to

become the aggravating problem (LOL!!!) that Internet e-mail spam

has become, saying legal action will be taken. They are trying to

set up filters to detect incoming spam as well. It's all slowing down

the entire system.

Constantly monitoring their networks to catch any scummy

spammers .... (sigh)

But it is very easy for spammers to send text messages quickly to

thousands of cell phones. Cell phone numbers are assigned in

blocks of 10,000. Each block will have the same area code and

exchange. All a company needs do is identify the last four digits

of a phone number as belonging to a cell phone, there's a good

chance all the numbers in that block are cell phone numbers.

If the spammer can then determine the phone company code

that follows the phone number(and that is easy) , spammer can

spit out a text message to 10,000 phones just as easily as you

can send an e-mail to a dozen friends.

Spammers don't care that 99.8 % of the messages sent reach

people who aren't interested -- because they are not paying for it!

If I got spam on my cell phone I'd go ballistic.

Just SAY NO (ya, like kids to drugs!) to wireless telephone systems transmiting unsolicited commercial messages.

It gets worse.

The FCC is implementing new rules for wireless 911 calls. By the end of 2002 all new digital cell phones must be equipped with technology allowing a users location to be determined when he or she calls 911. Marketers are simply drooling over this idea! Imagine it -- If you're driving near a XYZ.MART-- you get a message that says, "Stop in, you'll get the next RED LIGHT SPECIAL!"

You may be tempted to leave your cell phone home. You may be tempted to disconnect it. OR--you may be tempted to drive to XYZ and throw it through the plate glass window in a fit of rage.

If you get spammed on your cell phone, call your carrier and give them all the information on your screen. If you are billed for individual text messages, ask for a refund! Also, contact the company that sent the message and tell them (and no I would NOT use pretty words!) that you do NOT want to be contacted again!

By the way - to avoid all of this nonsense, just get a Tracfone or Trac Fone.

Non-traceable for safety AND no telemarketers!!