Vodacom tackles SMS scams

Today, Vodacom announced a new tab on its Facebook page that aims to tackle SMS scams.
Vodacomntoday went live with a new tool to tackle the longstanding issue of scam SMSs.

By adding a specialised new tab on its Facebook page, Vodacom aims tonharness the popularity of this social networking site to quickly and easilynspread the word when new scams surface.

Locatednon the Vodacom Facebook page (www.facebook.com/vodacom), the tab isndesigned so that Facebook users can submit any SMS scams they have received ornsimply “plus one” an existing scam. The plus one button is located next tonrecently added scams and will allow users to note the prevalence of thatnparticular SMS scam.  The tab can be used by anyone who has access tonFacebook.

“It’s great to be able to harness the power and popularity ofnthis new tool to solve an age-old problem. SMS scams have been around for justnabout as long as the SMS itself has, and up until now getting the word out hasnrelied on traditional media. With this simple solution, we intend to close thenwindow that scammers had to fleece unsuspecting people before the warning couldnbe raised.  Most importantly, rather than being driven by the company,nthis approach uses the combined experience of all of Vodacom’sncustomers,”  said Richard Boorman, Vodacom’s head of Corporate Affairs.

Whennusers enter a new SMS scam on the tab they will need to enter the number fromnwhich the SMS came as well as the accompanying message. The identity of thenFacebook user is kept anonymous. Once a scam has been submitted it will then beninvestigated by Vodacom’s Forensic Services team who will take appropriatenaction.

“One of the features of the tab is that all users will be ablento see the scams that have been submitted and are under investigation, as wellnas the scams that have been confirmed and blocked. This facility helps to raisenawareness of the different types of SMS scams as well as putting a stop to themnat the same time,” said Boorman.

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