There are literally millions of people who will say that spam SMS messages are a problem. Perhaps predictably, mobile phone users will say that they clog the memories of their mobile phones, and that they are annoying because subscribers receive several of them a day. They will probably also say that they are just a waste of time and money. The real problem, however, is that as of yet, subscribers simply can't choose not to receive them. For some mobile users in Saudi Arabia, the problem is even worse than that of email spam, because unlike an email client or web-based email service, there is no way to block unwanted messages and senders in mobile phone settings. In an attempt to find out if there is any possibility to avoid receiving these messages, the Saudi Gazette called the costomer service number of a mobile service provider in the Kingdom. The answer was no. When the customer service operator was asked how to avoid receiving these messages, he said that “these are normal advertisement messages and you cannot avoid them.” That operator said he had written a complaint to his superiors about these messages, saying that he had been getting so many calls about them from subscribers. They promised to review the complaint in 48 hours and see what they can do about it. The operator said he had no way of blocking these messages from being sent to any specific user. When asked how the senders could've obtained the phone number, he replied: “maybe when you bought something from a company, you gave them your number.” The manager in a well-known company in Jeddah, who asked for himself and his company not to be named, said his company only sends messages to its own customers. “We never send any ad messages to anybody but our own costomers or the ones recommended by them,” he said. When asked about the high frequency of messages costomers are receiving from them, he blamed the service provider. “The problem is with the mobile service company,” he said. “For example, when a subscriber's phone is turned off, the system tries to send him or her the message several times till he or she turns on the phone. Then all those messages will arrive in quick succession.” Some people want an immediate solution for the problem. “I receive (mobile SMS spam) everyday, and this has become truly a headache,” said Mish'al Al-Sharif. “I couldn't find a way to stop receiving it. I heard that if this happens in a Western country, I could sue both the sender and the service provider.” Ahmed Al-Qahtani, a high-school English teacher, probably speaks for millions when he says he's fed up with useless spam messages that clog his mobile phone's memory. “I've had enough of those messages,” he irately told the Saudi Gazette, “so much so that I don't even bother to pick up the phone anymore when I hear the SMS tune.” He said spam SMS is especially annoying when sent late at night. “You would think that there is something important, but it is just an advertising message.” “Unfortunately, there is no law in Saudi Arabia that would allow you to sue the companies that are using your personal number for commercial purposes,” said Abdul Samad Al-Mahdali, a Saudi lawyer. “Before you file a lawsuit, however, you have to remember if you have chosen your number to be shown to the public when you subscribed with the provider or not,” he cautioned, “because if you did, the companies can argue that you wanted your number to be known, which could blow your whole case.” Some women, on the other hand, actually want to get spam SMS, seeing it as a way to find out about events they would like to attend or discounts at shopping malls. “It is annoying sometimes, but I loved some of the things they said, like hotel discounts in vacations and a sale in my favorite shop,” said Fatmah Al-Harthy, a housewife. “It is better than missing the opportunity.” __
