Stopping SMS SPAM

Recently I received an e-mail asking for some clarification on "unsolicited text messages" -- As I was writing the reply I realized that it was probably a very common question so I thought I would publish both question and answer:

An E-mail from Al B.

Hi --

I have a T-Mobile prepaid plan phone and I get unsolicited text messages about twice per day. I don't use the text messaging functions at all.

I delete text messages without reading them, thereby avoiding having to pay for reading them.

My question is: if I stop deleting the unsolicited text messages and they start to "accumulate", where are they accumulating? Are they stored on my cell phone or are they stored elsewhere?

If stored elsewhere, what problems will I be causing myself if I stop deleting them and just let them accumulate (on a remote server?) indefinitely?

If stored on my phone, can I assume I have to delete them to avoid filling up my phone with junk text messages?

Thanks.

-- Al

And here is my reply:

Hi Al,

Thanks for your message.

In order to help you the most I'd like to ask a few questions.

1) Are you in the US - or somewhere in Europe?

If you are in Europe you don't pay to receive messages only for sending.

If you are in the US most plans charge you to receive the messages whether you open and read them or not.

2) Text messages are only stored in the network until they are successfully delivered to your phone. Once they are delivered - read or unread - they are no longer stored in the network. And yes - that means that you'll have to manually delete them.

3) The majority of text message SPAM in the US happens because people are sending e-mail to your SMS e-mail address. This is typically your number@t-mobile.com - like 3175551212@tmomail.net

A quick look on the web reveals this page:

http://support.t-mobile.com/tm23533.htm

Here you can install Message Blocking for T-Mobile and stop the majority of your unwanted messages... for Free...

There is a specific reference to stop e-mail to handset - and this is the one I think just about everyone should use:

To block e-mail messages to and from your @tmomail.net address, go to T-Mobile's e-mail filter options and select Block all messages from E-mail to handset.

The exception is if you use services like Flight Alerts from United or American Airlines - as this block may also block those alerts.

I hope you find this helpful.

If you have questions about how to stop unsolicited SMS messages on your device - feel free to send an e-mail to me at troy.norcross@newmediaedge.co.uk -- Maybe you're question will get published here too!

Best,

Troy