New Research Claims iMessage Accounts for 30% of Mobile Spam Messages

[roland.g]

They change the email each time so it doesn't matter about reporting it. You can block the sender on your device but the chance of being spammed from the same account twice is highly unlikely. I've received a couple and they were both from different gibberish accounts and both this month. They're annoying but I don't use read receipts and I'm not going to reply or chase down their "offer".

 

[budselectjr]

Looks like a email problem. Glad I only have my phone number included on imessage and don't turn on the email part. No spam. People without imessage can just SMS or email me.

 

[PlainviewX]

I've yet to receive a single spam iMessage. I've received numerous spam texts but not spam iMessages.

 

[D.T.]

Interesting timing of this article. Just received my first iMessage spam this week. Reported it to Apple. If this is truly a greater issue, perhaps Apple needs to add a "Report as spam" toggle for incoming iMessages.

Same here, first spam just the past week and funny enough it was also for sunglasses, but in my case it was Oakley (which I do own, and have bought online, so it threw me off for a just a second ...)

 

[jhtrico1850]

I've gotten 1 spam iMessage... But it was in the past month. Apple makes it really cumbersome to report it.

 

[The Doctor11]

I have gotten iMessage spam a couple times. Then i block their ass

 

[redscull]

Simple fix : add a toggle option to 'only receive iMessages from people in my contact list'

Non approved senders will have to revert to email ( same amount of spam as usual) or SMS ( costs money)

I've gotten iMessage spam. It makes me consider turning iMessage back off. Yet it seems there are so many good counter-measure options..

Toggle: Only receive iMessages from my contacts.
Toggle: Only send read-receits to my contacts.
Report: Let me block and report a spammer in one click within the iMessage app.
Setup: Require a phone number or iTunes account with some form of payment method attached before a person can send iMessages.
Deterrent: Apple lobbies Congress until spamming becomes a criminal offense punishable by death (my preference).

 

[aloshka]

News flash...
This is real...
Moon is made out of cheese!

I have this suspicion that the last statement isn't true.

I like a lot, never received spam. I do get calls from republicans with loaded survey questions where they already answer the question they are asking, so it doesn't matter what you answer.

 

[OtherJesus]

I can only speak for myself. I've had non-iMessage spam, but yet to have iMessage spam.

Both would annoy me.
Does spam actually work on some people?

 

[aloshka]

People saying they've never received a spam on iMessage are the same people telling us they go 3 or 4 days between charges on their iPhone.

Umm. No.

 

[jeremiah239]

People saying they've never received a spam on iMessage are the same people telling us they go 3 or 4 days between charges on their iPhone.

Hahahahah thats so true!

 

[aloshka]

Doesn't imessage require an iCloud account? Easy solve, no registered cell, no iMessages on the iCloud account. I doubt spammers would buy phones / phone numbers even single-use to spam people.

 

[charlituna]

i don't have such a problem so far using iMessage.

Me neither. Been using iMessages since it launched and never a spam message

 

[grjj]

None

None even 1.
I rarely get a spam SMS but not a single iMessage.

Seems the desire to do so would be low. With an inability to mask the sending address and a single-point funnel (Apple's iMessage servers) any spammer should get shut down very quickly.


The next step on Apple's part will be:

Requiring a credit card to create an Apple ID instead of waiting for the user to create an iTunes Store account before asking for the credit card number.

Implementing a reporting system for messages. Slide the message left and choose "Junk", or just reply "Junk". At some magic # of flags the sender's account is shut down.

Some other magic that I can't think of now that detects the rate of outgoing messages from a single address or network and shuts them down automatically.


One cool thing about iMessage is that if they wanted to, Apple could retroactively recall the SPAM messages from everyone's phones. I don't think that mechanism exists right now but I could see it happening if bulk messaging actually becomes a problem.

 

[Eweie]

I can't even send messages in iMessage without my credit card attached to my apple account.
and no, I've never gotten spam in iMessage. you people that have are probably just very unlucky.

 

[latsyrhc]

Same here, first spam just the past week and funny enough it was also for sunglasses, but in my case it was Oakley (which I do own, and have bought online, so it threw me off for a just a second ...)

Me too.. I've gotten a couple in the past few weeks for Oakley sunglasses. I don't own any nor have I ever bought a pair.

 

[octothorpe8]

I do like iMessage a lot, but I started getting spam messages a couple weeks ago. I used that Apple "tool" for reporting spam, but it's incredibly cumbersome. I suppose adding a "report spam" button would be admitting it's a problem and surely Apple would never do that.

Finally what I decided to do is change my "I can be reached for iMessage at..." setting to ONLY my phone number. I'd already set "Start new conversations from..." to my phone number, so I'm pretty sure any legit contact of mine has that already.

One of the emails I could be iMessaged at was quite easy to guess (first initial dot last name at gmail) so that might have had something to do with it.

 

[baryon]

As to randomly entering email and sending a message to someone who you don't know if they recieve it or are online.... um hello.... thats exactly how SMS works. apples purpose was to essentially duplicate SMS but on the internet. The imessage WILL eventually say not delivered just the same as an SMS will eventually be nondelivered.

Not really, since every mobile number can receive SMS messages, but not every email address or phone number can receive iMessages. In fact, the majority of email addresses cannot receive iMessages. With SMS, unless their phone is off, they will definitely get your message. With iMessage, they probably won't, unless they told you that they own an Apple device and are using the service.

 

[octothorpe8]

Doesn't imessage require an iCloud account? Easy solve, no registered cell, no iMessages on the iCloud account. I doubt spammers would buy phones / phone numbers even single-use to spam people.

You're forgetting that people with Macs can sign in with iCloud and open Messages and send out iMessages. Requiring specifically an iPhone to do iMessage would pretty much kill its usefulness/adoption.

 

[aloshka]

Finally what I decided to do is change my "I can be reached for iMessage at..." setting to ONLY my phone number.

I wonder if that's why I don't get spam. I only accept messages to my phone number. I use iMessages exactly like SMS and skype for chatting otherwise

----------

You're forgetting that people with Macs can sign in with iCloud and open Messages and send out iMessages. Requiring specifically an iPhone to do iMessage would pretty much kill its usefulness/adoption.

I meant phone number regardless if it's an iphone. A person gets flagged for spam, can't use that account anymore. Has to create a new one. Kind of a security blessing if you can identify your spammers.

 

[ppc_michael]

>AppleScript
>code

 

[Mtmspa]

Never got spam on iMessage. Sounds like this expert is trying to make something out of nothing to get his name out there.

 

[joejoejoe]

For all those people declaring that they don't receive spam on iMessage, good for you.

I receive spam on iMessage several times a week. I block the senders every time, but then they just use a new email account.

It's horrifically annoying.

 

[joejoejoe]

For a while I had a spammer sending me iMessages around 8am, I know that since iOS 7 I can now block people from texting/calling me and for a while this is what I was doing with this spammer (though he would eventually just message me from a new email address).

About 2 months ago I got a message once again around 8am, I was getting ready for work and rather than block it I just swiped and delete the message, then the next day same thing, on the 3rd day he messaged me and it happen to be my day off. I received the message on my Mac and I was rather annoyed so I googled "Gay Porn" images and saved about 20 pictures, then using copy and paste I sent well over 100 text images (20 pictures each time) of gay porn from my Mac to that guy.

Two months later not a single spam from that person.

The spam was a sale on sunglasses and a bunch of accessories.

Raybans? I always get those. I will try this. Thank you.

 

[TheHateMachine]

Never got spam on iMessage. Sounds like this expert is trying to make something out of nothing to get his name out there.

Or you know, maybe the spammers just don't have your information. Just because you are not getting them does not mean other people aren't. I never see spam in my gmail, should I declare that there is no such thing as email spam these days?