Every now and then, we receive a beep or a call on our mobile phones while sitting with family or relaxing from hectic routine or just passing a normal time and very excitedly when we open our mobile than come to know it is just another message for sale, any political or social event is seeking our attention. Yes, there it is! Another spam message or call. No doubt that Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has provided a public service in this regard and said that anyone who found involved in such activity will definitely face consequences but that is still of no use.
However, alarming thing is that; how could these marketing companies get hold of our numbers? Of course, it is not even possible without the consent of mobile companies. Everyone is almost exhausted and tired of that message of “Benazir Income Support program k tehet….” on a daily basis. Surprisingly, every time a new number mentioned on that message – well on a serious note if they start giving money almost every day by sending that SMS, then I would absolutely be a millionaire by now.
Another very common example, most of us have tackled is that girl ‘Saba’ or sometimes, “Asma.” The girl, who is always in danger and needs mobile credit of Rupees 50 or Rupees 100 every day, Countless people have fallen into her prey and later came to know that it is just another spam and they are not going to get their mobile balance back.
Additionally, there is another type of spamming is “Email spam” also known as “Junk Email.” The e-mails usually we receive daily. Mostly they are just malware. A report issued by Sophos Labs “Dirty Dozen “in 2012 has indicated that Pakistan is at 9th place in creating spam emails worldwide.
This all is happening under the nose of PTA and they are just sitting there and doing nothing except a notice that they just issued so that no one would raise question against them.
Just like any other Government entity, PTA’s responsibility is just to give notice and nothing more. They need to understand how annoying and disturbing these messages and calls are and have to come up with a quick and easy way to resolve this issue and should also punish the perpetrators of any spam.
Start using spam filters. There are so many filters at the moment and most email providers have built in spam filters you do not have to pay for (server side built in). Another option to consider is using paid filters, like Spamdrain etc. They are efficient and worth every penny once you get to know them better.