In the U.S., spam on our cellular phones hasn’t really been a problem when compared to the rampant mobile phone spam in Asia where the culture seems to have adopted text messaging a generation sooner. I’ve had a cell phone in the U.S. for over ten years now, and I’ve received only approximately one SMS text message a year since then. The acronym SMS stands for short message system, which is a protocol for the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices.

The hardware and software required to send bulk text messages has been available for the right price for many years now. Although SMS text messages in theory cost a few cents each, I doubt that criminal gangs would have a problem paying. Why do we not see more text spam then? I suspect, due to many missing text messages to friends and colleagues, that my service provider already has text message spam filtering in place. Although I haven’t been notified of any filtering being put in place, “transparent” filtering is unfortunately commonly implemented.

Additionally, access to the SMS networks in the U.S. seems pretty tightly controlled. If someone that has licensed a place on the network originates a lot of spam, it seems that a very expensive license could be lost as punishment, or that fees could be levied.

Many of the principles from my recent e-mail address security series of articles still hold true. My friends that have in the past initiated text messages in response to commercial advertisements get more text message spam than those that are more careful of who they text.

Many cell phone users are more troubled by mobile phone spam than they are by e-mail spam or telemarketing calls. They see cell phone spam as a personal affront, especially since many mobile phone users still have to pay to receive text messages. If one is going to treat one’s text messages as the last sacred form of communication, one should treat one’s mobile phone number with the same attitude. When one see ads asking for a text message in exchange for something of perceived value, one may want to exercise some restraint.

My prediction is that we will have problems with more and more telemarketing, especially from automated operators, on our mobile phones before we notice a huge increase in text message spam. One reason is that organizations still don’t use text messages for potential and existing customers to contact them. There is no need to allow every single anonymous text message through. If text message spam starts becoming a problem, a simple filter that blocks all text messages, except those from the people in your contact list, will meet most people’s needs. Yes, an increase in mobile phone spam is coming to the U.S., but only time will tell if the cellular providers will be prepared for it. It doesn’t have to be a problem.

More and more mobile phone users are starting to rely on SMS text messages for important alerts, and it’s going to become increasingly important for cell phone providers to ensure delivery and not implement any hidden filtering. I hope that the U.S. cellular providers will be prepared to handle the coming text message spam. If cellular phone providers can provide header information for text messages so that they aren’t untraceable, and implement a whitelist and blacklist, I think they’ll be well on the way to a solution for the fateful increase in text message spam. What they’re going to do about telemarketing calls, I have no idea.