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SMS Spam: ?3750 for an accident you haven’t had

11
May
2011

There seems to be a huge number of these spam SMS messages doing the rounds recently:

Free Msg; Our records indicate you may be entitled to ?3750 for the accident you had. To apply free reply CLAIM to this message. To opt out text STOP.
These message come through if you are registered on TPS or not. There is no identification as to who is sending them, and the number changes regularly (I have seen +447955957379, +447591260334, +447542067695, +44758137217, +447403811563, +447826688283, +447517528462). Sometimes the spam starts FREEMSG. Always the value seems to be ?3750. It doesn’t matter if you have had an accident or not.

If you are a Vodafone, O2 and Orange customer you can report the SMS spam to your provider: for Orange and O2 forward the message to 7726 (it spells SPAM) or on Vodafone is is 87726 (VSPAM). I have not been able to confirm, but T-Mobile and 3 may also accept forwarded messages to 7726 as well. The carriers should be able to block the spammers if they get enough reports, and take legal action where necessary.

Replying STOP is probably not a good idea – the spammers may well use it to confirm that the mobile number is active. And replying CLAIM is probably an even worse idea since they are a bunch of low-life spammers who probably cannot be trusted.

  1. Spam The Spammer July 28, 2011

    Got this one as well- about 30 times since beginning of 2011: Free Msg; Our records indicate you may be entitled to £3750 for the accident you had. To apply free reply CLAIM to this message. To opt out text STOP

    My hint: DO reply. Txt CLAIM and WASTE THEIR TIME. They will call you, give them fake details and you’ll be put through to a solicitor. They are very concerned abt you confirming that you haven’t been cold-called. Tell them it’s no cold call as there was a “cold message” before. You can then go on wasting his time a bit until you reveal that “this came as an unsolicited text message and I do not feel obliged to have to opt out”. Usually they get really pissed off then 🙂

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