Qtel, Qatar’s leading telecommunications service provider, has issued a set of guidelines to curb the rising volume of unsolicited “spam” messages.
“Spam” messaging – unsolicited advertising by either voice or text message – is a growing concern for many users across the Middle East, particularly because some SMS messaging is being used to defraud customers, a statement said.
With more than 1.4 million mobile customers in Qatar, Qtel is a regional pioneer in protecting and safeguarding mobile privacy, and has always enforced a strict policy of not sharing customer details and numbers with third parties, it said.
The new set of guidelines is designed to inform customers about the avenues that are being used to gain access to personal data, and also to suggest potential remedies.
“Customers need to be aware of the potential risks when leaving their business cards in stores, or submitting their phone details to competitions and raffles, unless they specifically want to receive information from these companies,” said Adel Al Mutawa, executive director of Group Communications, Qtel.
“Many companies – often from outside of Qatar – are looking to ‘harvest’ phone lists, and then exploit the data to launch a high volume of spam messages, often using SMS websites. Customers should protect their phone numbers and be careful when sharing them with anyone other than family, friends and business contacts,” he added.
As well as safeguarding their mobile numbers, Qtel also advises customers to exercise caution when they receive calls or messages from unknown numbers. Qtel has received reports that bogus callers have pretended that the recipient has won a lottery, received an inheritance, or even in some cases have acted as if seeking personal companionship, the statement said.
As well as the irritation factor of receiving such unwanted calls, there is also the risk of fraud when these approaches are used to request personal details and payment from recipients, it said.
Other recorded examples of fraud include the use of mobile spam to fool unsuspecting users into calling back premium rate numbers, texting premium rate short codes or entering personal information into an unauthorized site.
“Qtel is deploying every professional and technological resource it can to try to limit this Spam menace within Qatar. However, defeating the problem requires a partnership between operators and the public, which is why we are promoting these new guidelines,” said Al Mutawa.
Globally, spam has become a major problem for users and network operators alike, with a recent study by the University of St Gallen in Switzerland suggesting that more than 80 percent of people have received unwanted marketing messages on their mobile phones.
As well as the frustrations and potential risks for phone users, unwanted messaging can also put pressure on operator resources during peak hours, with high volumes of messages tying up resources, it said. – TradeArabia News Service