Newest “Spam King” Turns to SMS Spam

A New Zealand man profiled in a book about “Spam Kings” has been linked to a new SMS spam campaign hitting online forums. The spams are sent via text message and hype a site called AntennaBooster.co.nz which sells what it claims is a signal enhancer for cell phones. Vodafone users have also been targeted.

Brendan Battles, the man behind both the site and the spam, has been a known spammer for many years. Back in 2003 he sued Spamhaus for blacklisting his Emarketers.org site, but quickly dropped the suit just a few months later. In 2006, he was accused of spamming for broadband accounts and telephone calling rates. According to the “Spam Kings” book, Battles sent up to 50 million spam messages a day hyping scams such as subliminal weight loss.

Unfortunately, since the bulk of Battles’ spamming activities both in the U.S. and in New Zealand took place before either country had anti-spam laws in place, he has never been charged with, or convicted of, spamming. Now that such laws are in place, it’s a sure bet that Battles will finally have his day in court.

SMS spam is especially infuriating because most people pay to receive texts, meaning each spam message they get costs them money. Most cellular providers work hard to block spam texts from getting through, but like spam filters, they aren’t perfect. I received a text spam the other day telling me I had a new message from a “hot girl” at a website I’d never heard of. Needless to say it was promptly deleted. I have an unlimited texting plan, but for someone who pays a .10 a message fee, you can see how having to pay for such trash can become a very big problem!