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

[Col4bin]

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.

Definitely recommend that those of us who are actually receiving intrusive iMessage spam, do the following:

Settings > Notification Center > Messages (scroll down to bottom of page and select the "Show Alerts from My Contacts Only" option)

Time will tell if this actually works. Good luck!

 

[PocketSand11]

I rarely get iMessage spam, but I still get it. I've probably gotten more from AIM. But since more people use iMessage, this isn't surprising unless "mobile spam messages" includes email.

I actually replied to an automated emoji-filled spam message once, and a normal person replied back. So it was a hijacked account?

 

[CPx]

I occasionally get iMessage spam. And I have used Apple's reporting thing.

 

[John.B]

I occasionally get iMessage spam. And I have used Apple's reporting thing.

Whack-a-mole: hit this one, a different one pops up.

What I'd really like is a whitelist for iMessages.

 

[John.B]

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.

All brilliant solutions!

 

[Tech198]

ok, who left the spam door open.. ...

 

[poe diddley]

Weird. I've been using it three years with no spam at all..

 

[joejoejoe]

Definitely recommend that those of us who are actually receiving intrusive iMessage spam, do the following:

Settings > Notification Center > Messages (scroll down to bottom of page and select the "Show Alerts from My Contacts Only" option)

Time will tell if this actually works. Good luck!

Unfortunately in my line of work I have new people on different crews reaching out to me all the time, and the benefit of having their messages come in on my computer screen outweighs the annoyance of the spam.

Only real solution is for Apple to implement better (or actually any) anti spam technology into imessage.

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

it's a real problem. jut because it doesn't affect you does not mean it does not exist.

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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.

this is always the one i get (or similar)

 

[joejoejoe]

For example:

 

[Trapezoid]

For example:

Man that really sucks and looks incredibly annoying. Spammers are the worst

 

[SHNXX]

what?
ive never received any

 

[Primejimbo]

It seems like I got lucky. My iTunes email is never used for anything else expect a few others things. I use the alias for the email accounts for other things, so maybe that helps me out.

 

[Jessica Lares]

My iMessage address is only used for iMessage and I redirect my main iTunes account mail to it. So no spam here either.

I think 30% is over exaggerating though, and I bet you loads have forgotten the difference between SMS and iMessages. Because the same type of people who have had their e-mail addresses sold, also had their numbers in the mix too.

Stop doing wall offers for money/points, that's where most of it comes from.

 

[xdhd350]

I've gotten a few of them via iMessage starting several months ago. I figure once Apple added the iMessage capability to OSX, that enabled the spammers to operate very efficiently. To hard to spam tons of people via mobile device.

 

[viizi]

funny how some people have gotten tonnes of spam yet I have never gotten one spam. They must have added their phone number or address to some kind of list somewhere down the line because it really looks targeted to me.

 

[iKen1]

Count me as one more voice saying I've never had spam by iMessage.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I had spam back in 2009 with the iPhone 3G, (but I think that was SMS ) however I haven't had anything since then.

 

[magicsoft]

No problem here either

I haven't had an issue with iMessage spam, although I have gotten a few via regular text message. Luckily, iOS now lets you block users.

 

[SHNXX]

I get iMessage spam occasionally. I block them and they seem to stop. Maybe they're not ambitious spammers. Slacker spammers?

They should read the Secret and attend Anthony Robbins seminars and sell some herbalife juices.

Then they will become great spammers since they've lost their entire life savings on paying for the above.

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I get a lot of spam on my google voice number but never on iMessage.

Maybe spam traffic is county specific?

 

[JAT]

Not really, since every mobile number can receive SMS messages,

This is not true, not everyone has texting.

 

[ron7624]

I also got a whole lotta SPAM.

Image

Oh wait, wrong thread.

U just made me hungry. Fried spam, yum, yum!!!

Seriously, I've never received spam in iMessage either, but I don't own a Mac (yet) and it sounds like using a Mac is the gateway to this problem?

 

[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.

Got another rayban spam this morning and tried your trick.

LET'S HOPE IT WORKS