Mobile phone spam puts crooks out of action
Published: 24 Mar 2003 09:16 GMT
Authorities in China have come up with a high-tech way to punish criminals -- a computer program that spams their mobile phones until they turn themselves in.
Officials in Hangzhou, the capital of China's Zhejiang province, have developed a system which bombards mobile phones with pre-recorded voice messages, according to the official newspaper, the People's Daily. And businessmen who put up illegal advertisements which contain mobile numbers are the first target of the computerised phone-spammer.
According to the paper, illegal stickers have become an eyesore in recent years, with China's coastal and urbanised areas blighted under a blizzard of advertisements. This is because the postcard-sized stickers, which promote everything from fake identity cards to counterfeit academic certifications, are cheap to produce and offer some anonymity.
The new system rings the mobile phone numbers of illegal advertisers at 20-second time intervals, said the People's Daily.
Upon answering the call, the wrongdoer hears the pre-recorded message -- "You have broken the law by posting illegal ads. You must immediately stop this activity and go to the Hangzhou Urban Administrative Bureau for punishment."
The system also dents the advertisers' bottom line as ad respondents are unlikely to get through, thanks to the mobile barrage.
Ordinary folks need not worry about being spammed by mistake as the phone numbers are taken from photos of illegal advertisements, said Wei Yunxiang, an official with the Hangzhou Urban Administrative Bureau.
The numbers are also checked manually and require the approval of a senior official before the bombardment can begin, he told the People's Daily.
Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.
Did you find this article useful?
33 out of 64 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
