Cell Phone >> Financial institutions • The US
UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has initiated a crackdown on firms that send out unsolicited emails and text messages offering credit or promising to write off debts.
The office told BBC that such spam texts could be linked to organised crime. The issue is of “high priority” and the erring firms could be fined up to £50,000 (around US $80,000). “Our recent survey reveals half the population has received this type of spam texts, causing people alarm and distress,” said Steve Eckersley, head of enforcement at ICO. BBC quoted Matt Hartley of non-profit Consumer Credit Counselling Service, which campaigns against unsolicited texts, saying that these companies are preying on financially vulnerable consumers. ICO, which plans to execute search warrants, said the best way to prevent firms sending spam messages was to be very careful about giving out a mobile number.
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