Office of Fair Trading runs fake spam stunt

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 19 Feb 2008 at 10:29

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been sending thousands of mock SMS spam messages, in an effort to highlight the dangers of replying.

"OFT hopes that this innovative approach of sending fake scam text messages will remind young consumers to be on their guard if they receive a suspicious offer," says Mike Haley, director of consumer protection at the OFT.

The message, sent to those aged between 18 and 24, claims that the recipient may have won a cash prize, but is quickly followed up with another to explain the ploy and promote a new service called PhonepayPlus.

"Urgent! U may have won £1k cash with '2 Good 2 B True," reads the message.

The PhonepayPlus service allows users to text details of a premium rate number and receive information on the cost of calling that number.

The OFT claims that this information can help people to avoid premium rate scams, in which messages trick people into calling numbers with excessive charges.

"Our job is to crack down on scams and other misbehaviour when it occurs so that everyone can use phone-paid services with confidence," says Trays O'Reilly, director of standards and communications at PhonepayPlus.