Mobile phone users hit by SMS spam for messaging app

[rolleyez]

08/13/2013 11:45 | By 938LIVE, with additional reporting from xinmsn

Mobile phone users hit by SMS spam for messaging app

Many users received a new SMS every few minutes saying that a friend wants to add them on MessageMe.

SINGAPORE : Mobile phone users have been hit by SMS spam for a instant messaging app called MessageMe.

Many users said they received a new SMS every few minutes saying that a friend wants to add them on the free messaging app.

The only problem is their friends didn't invite them and some users were even receiving multiple invites from strangers.

The messages which looked like it was sent directly from MessageMe included a link that sends users to the app's iTunes store or Google Play page.

Also making its rounds is a message (below) claiming that the invitation message to join MessageMe is a “spam virus”.

It warns recipients not to click on the link as it will cause a user to send out SMS invites to all their contacts and max out their SMS quotas.

However, MessageMe said Tuesday that this “fake message” suggesting that it is “sending out spam SMS invites with the intent to compromise user data” is a hoax.

“Your privacy is of utmost importance, so we wish to inform you that this message is a hoax and entirely untrue. Any texts you receive to join MessageMe will be from one of your personal contacts, that has specifically sent you an invitation,” the US-based company said in a statement on its Facebook page.

MessageMe clarified that clicking the download link in the invitation message will take users to the app's iTunes store or Google Play page, and “will not send an SMS to all of your contacts, and will never charge you to send an SMS”. It also apologised for any confusion caused.

 

[rolleyez]

Updated: 08/13/2013 20:11 | By Channel NewsAsia

Instant messaging app spam sparks alarm over privacy issues

SINGAPORE: An SMS spam by instant messaging app MessageMe has sparked alarm among some mobile phone users who fear that their personal information had been used.

Many were flooded with texts saying that a friend on their contact list wanted to "add" them on MessageMe.

IT experts believe that it is a marketing technique; users give permission to have their contact list accessed when they sign up for the app.

While this is similar to other messaging applications, experts say it is up to the company's discretion on whether to make use of the information.

A message has been circulating online telling users not to click on the link provided in the SMS, warning of extra charges.

In response, MessageMe has come out to say that it would never spam SMS-invites with the intent to compromise user data.

In a posting on its Facebook page, it assured users that they would only get SMSes from their contacts, and that it would never charge users for sending an SMS.

IT experts suggest companies like Apple and Google, which upload such applications, should make it clear to users that their personal data is being accessed.

Tong Hui Leong, director of NTS Consulting, said: "Right now, what we see is that the terminology that is actually provided by these two companies are quite technical. So most will not be able to understand too much. And with that, they might blindly agree to allow this application to use to gain access to their personal space." - CNA/jc

 

[peppertail]

Why the heck does one need another messaging app anyway???

 

[Wrath]

No wonder I kept receiving these spam over the last few days.