
Why do incoming spam SMS cost money in the US? - ceoloide
I&#x27;m originally from Europe, where strong consumer protection laws make it free to receive SMS.<p>Here in the US I activated a prepaid plan, which charges $0.20 per SMS, including incoming ones.<p>The problem is that the phone number I got must have been used in the past, because I receive tons of confirmation SMS and marketing spam, which all are charged against my plan.<p>How is this legal? I purchase $10.00 of credit and it gets spent on nothing I personally did, with no way for me to block it.<p>This looks really punitive to the people who cannot afford the $19.00 option for unlimited text!<p>Are there ways to deal with this situation? If not, how can I help the US society to change this practice?
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laken
For automated texts, legally, there have to be ways of unsubscribing. Try
replying to them with "STOP," as even if the spammer doesn't configure it,
usually the upstream SMS provider has it built-in to remove you from getting
further texts.

In general, essentially everyone in the US has an unlimited message plan, and
if not, many carriers don't charge for incoming. My recommendation to how to
fix this is to vote with your wallet. Switch to a prepaid provider with better
SMS rules.

I'm assuming based on the $0.20/message cost, that you're using AT&T prepaid,
which has some of the highest SMS fees for prepaid plans.

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ceoloide
You are right, and I know AT&T is not the cheapest, but I am forced to use it
for the time being. There are a number of reasons why one would need to stick
with one operator or the other.

What I question is the fact that I have no control on incoming SMS, and still
I get charged for them.

Most of the 4-5 digit numbers mention the STOP options, but I get messages
from 10-digit numbers like the following:

"Tracie! Breaking report: This fruit burns up to 10lbs of fat in 14 days!
Enjoy this special update here al49.xyz/ketonews"

The same message, a different number every time. Basically everyone in the US
is forced to have unlimited text and calls in order not to pay for incoming
marketing, how fair is this?

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laken
Huh, I don't think I've ever gotten spam like that before via SMS.

It seems to be personalized to the previous holder of the number, who I assume
is named 'Tracie.' I'd see if you're able to get another phone number, as this
'Tracie' was quite liberal with giving out their number to anyone and
anything.

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olliej
Yeah this was mind blowing when I first moved to the US.

The idea that someone can cost you money without your consent is insane. I
vaguely recall incoming calls also costing money when I first came here - and
I got a lot as the previous owner of the number clearly hadn’t been paying
bills...

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murukesh_s
Calls are something you can choose to not accept, but SMS is not..

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olliej
Yes, but if you don’t know who’s calling you, and you’re expecting a large
number of calls (as happens when you first move to a country), or if you don’t
have caller id (which can lie, or just isn’t present of land lines) you have
to pick up. And then you get charged for having a “conversation”.

I feel the rate of spam would decrease somewhat if telcos in the US were not
permitted to charge for receiving calls or text messages. (Maybe the latter
“service” messages requiring an explicit acceptance message before they’re
allowed to charge?)

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codegeek
US Telecom and Banking industries are very primitive compared to many
countries, so no you cannot do much. Sad but reality. You can either pay for
unlimited text or pay for each SMS.

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wprapido
Unlike E-Mail and landline phones, unsolicited calls and messages on mobiles
and in regular mail are not illegal. Perhaps because both USPS and AT&T make a
decent amount of cash off this.

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ismail
WhatsApp and other messaging apps have practically killed sms for personal one
on one communications. The only thing still prepping up SMS is the bulk
messaging such as notifications and marketing.

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colejohnson66
“practically killed”? No one I know uses WhatsApp; they all text

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wprapido
Depends on where. Europe, Asia, Latin America. SMS is dead. Messaging apps
rule. Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, WeChat, depending on region.

