The Mobile Marketing Blog - TellMyCell

Text Scammers Who Had the Tables Turned on Them

 

The onset of the digital revolution ushered in a new era of the opportunistic scam. Fraudsters and shysters could now run their nefarious practices from thousands of miles away (like, say, Nigeria?). Unscrupulous types who lacked the brass neck to pull off a traditional, face-to-face con could now chance their arm by posing as junior members of African royalty with suspect English and even more suspect financial problems.

As digital communication has migrated to mobile devices, scammers have adapted to the new technologies. Their tactics run the gamut from extremely well-organized operations implicating major network carriers to low-level, low-life skullduggery.

You might scratch your head wondering how people can fall for these tricks, but they work on enough people to make it worthwhile for the scammers. Sending a text blast to thousands of numbers takes a second, and they only need a handful of ‘hits’ for the con to pay off. The best way to hit these guys where it hurts is to waste their time, thus reducing their ROI. But who can be bothered to engage with fraudsters when there’s no direct pay off?

Thankfully for the tragically naïve out there who actually fall for such scams, there are people fighting back. One case doing the rounds online sees a man claiming to represent a Fortune 500 company, and offering text recipients the chance to earn $5000 a month working from home. You know the sort of thing. Unfortunately, his mark was clearly doing well enough financially to spend some time being a delightful nuisance by responding to the SMS with a series of humorous messages. Expert trolling, and a dignified response to a decidedly undignified hoax.

Even classier was the SMS response of a 24-year-old Bristolian graphic designer to an internet scam. Edd Joseph shelled out $133 for a PlayStation 3 using GumTree, the UK equivalent of Craigslist. Having sent the money via bank transfer, Joseph was dismayed when his games console failed to materialize. His reaction will go down in the annals of vengeance.

With the seller’s mobile number his only point of contact, Joseph copied and pasted the complete works of William Shakespeare and sent all 37 plays to the scammer – 160 characters at a time. That works out to 29,305 individual messages. Joseph’s unlimited mobile plan meant his literary retort cost no more than his usual phone bill. The entire plan took more than a week to execute – and Joseph received his fair share of irate messages in return.

If you don’t fancy digital vigilantism, then stay digitally vigilant. The best way to deal with scammers is not to fall for the ruse in the first place. The more educated we are on the latest iterations of the mobile scam, the less likely we are to engage, and the fewer scammers there will be. 

Text Scams and How to Spot Them

 

As more and more people fall prey to malicious text message scammers, we’d like to take a look at how you can identify potentially criminal activity aimed at your phone. These should set alarm bells ringing: 

You Have Won a Prize Out of the Blue

Don’t remember entering any sort of competition? And now someone wants to give you a cash prize? One of the oldest tricks in the book, the mysterious raffle operators with seemingly endless supplies of massive yachts and buckets of money have been running this one since those dark, pre-internet days of the landline phone. They’ve updated their medium in accordance with the smartphone age, but the game is the same: ask ‘participants’ to load credits (ie give money) in exchange for a non-existent prize. Avoiding this scam is pretty simple – if you did not enter a raffle, you have not won a raffle.

Uncle Bob is Stranded in Marrakech

It’s incredible that anyone would fall for this, but it’s a common enough text scam to suggest it’s working somewhere. You get a text, allegedly from some foreign official, claiming one of your relatives has run into financial difficulties while abroad. In order to be a good family member, you must wire cash. A variation on this involves an SMS from the ‘relative’ themselves, who is using a temporary pre-paid phone while on holiday. Never send money to a relative abroad unless you’ve spoken to them directly.

The Sender is an 11-digit Mobile Number

Legitimate text messages from businesses will come from a shortcode. Don’t trust a long phone number unless you recognize it.

Your Bank Asks for Your PIN

Your bank will never ask for your PIN unless you’re standing at an ATM. Remember that one fact and you won’t fall victim to one of the most common types of scam. Here’s how it works: a text message lands in your inbox saying your account has been suspended (usually, in an ironic twist, because of a feared ‘security breach’). It asks you to call a 1-800 number at which point your PIN and account details are requested. If this happens, your identity is being stolen.

As you can see, the majority of SMS scams are pretty shabby, transparent ruses. You might feel insulted even being warned against them. But spare a thought for the less tech-savvy people you know – the kind of people who probably aren’t reading this blog! Grandparents or elderly neighbors, perhaps. It’s precisely these vulnerable members of society that these scammers rely on hoodwinking, so if you know anybody who might be at risk, why not let them know about some of the more common frauds that go on – and must work – every single day.

The World’s First SMS Tutor is Here – And It’s Getting Results

An innovative new service aimed at helping second-level students bump up their grades was launched to great fanfare this week. Developed by Irish music director Frank McNamara, SMS Tutor reaches out to pupils in a way they can all understand, via their beloved smartphones, and claims to improve exam results by up to 40%.

The service sends regular, bite-sized morsels of curriculum content during the run up to Junior or Leaving Certificate papers. Students can learn a few knew things each day without getting overwhelmed by reams of content. Pertinent bits of information relating to their studies are issued via SMS as a way of complementing formal education.

McNamara’s brainchild has had dramatic results under test conditions. SMS Tutor hired educational psychologist Deirdre Griffin to establish the effectiveness of the service on two counts: learning and recall.

The results showed that participants who received the text messages achieved significantly higher results on 14 facts. Comparing results for text recipients versus non-recipients, the difference in scores equates to a C3 to B1 grade improvement at Leaving Certificate level. SMS recipients averaged a score of 40% higher than non-recipients, and on the more detailed bonus questions, the results were up to four times better.

McNamara says the idea came to him when he noticed mobile phone usage was beginning to encroach on his kids’ study time. Rather than kick against it, he decided to try combining the need for exam revision with his kids’ habitual use of mobile devices. Says McNamara:

“I said to a friend one day if only we could get students heads out of their phones and into their study books, we’d be onto a winner. And that’s when the light bulb went off and I had a ‘eureka’ moment, why not bring the study to the mobile phone. Our motto is you learn something new every day.” 



Students – and no doubt their parents – interested in trying the service can sign up for one text per day for the entire school year for €40 per subject for the academic year. The service provides every subject from the school year at a cost of €5 per month per subject.

As of the launch date, SMS Tutor caters to students on Ireland’s school curriculum. Whether the service is rolled out internationally, or further across Europe, will depend on its success at home. Watch this space – TellMyCell will keep you posted on how well this innovative idea is doing in the Irish market, and it’s chances for going global.

Text Marketers Turn Their Attentions to Africa

One of the most fascinating truths about mobile marketing in 2014 is the dominance of SMS messaging. Ten years ago, when smartphones were in their infancy, few would have predicted that text messages would soon be a key concern of marketing campaigns. If anything, SMS was threatening to become an anachronism in the face of mobile email communications and, more recently, the rise of messaging apps.

And yet, even in countries with high smartphone penetration such as South Korea and the UK, SMS alerts play an important role in mobile marketing campaigns. In developing countries, where mobile device ownership is largely limited to basic cellphones, it’s even more important. In many places, 2G voice and SMS services is all there is.

For the majority of Africans, text-based mobile marketing is the only option. Across the continent, eight out of ten people own a cellphone. Despite the data limitations imposed by the current network infrastructure and paucity of smartphones, the addiction to mobile communication is no less pronounced; most Africans carry their phones everywhere they go, and rarely switch them off. Many people without a permanent abode have a cellphone number. Text messaging is the most effective way to reach people.

Response rates for text are exceedingly high when compared with email or paper mail. It’s not unusual for an SMS campaign to get a response rate of up to 30% on offers and 60% on surveys (compared with 2.6% for direct mail). In part, it’s the immediacy of SMS that gives it an edge. But it also comes down to the fact that cell phones are trusted personal devices. Every recipient almost always sees and reads a text message, which increases the potential response rate for marketers. 

The scope for personalization is another key advantage to SMS. It’s as effective for one-to-one marketing as for bulk messaging, and at a cost of a few cents per message, it also happens to be one of the least expensive forms of advertising you can use. Small wonder that text messaging is the go-to form of communication in the developing world.

Volkswagen Challenge Distracted Driving to Devastating Effect

In Hong Kong, car manufacturer Volkswagen teamed up with a local movie theater to produce a public service announcement warning against the dangers of texting and driving.

The spot played to a packed theater, and used location-based broadcasting to hit the audience with a one-two punch: a text message sent to every member of the crowd followed by a sudden shock emerging from the silver screen. Watch the video to get the full impact:

There’s no doubting the smarts behind the campaign – although a cynic may doubt the veracity of the footage. For one thing, the geo-fencing technology used to issue a mass text usually requires recipients to opt-in. Were they asked to opt in to a contact list when they booked tickets? If so, were they not primed for some sort of interactive multimedia experience before sitting down? And what about cinema-goers who did not subscribe, or those who followed standard movie protocol and switched their phones off? It looks like everyone in the audience not only receives the text, but immediately reads it?

In fairness, this nitpicking misses the point. Real or staged, the clip brutally demonstrates the risks associated with texting and driving, and you have to applaud VW for sponsoring the campaign – after all, not many manufacturers are willing to show the fatal potential of their product, even in support of a good cause.

The video has rightly gone viral, and should be viewed by anyone who still doesn’t take distracted driving seriously - just as long as they don’t attempt to watch it from behind the wheel.

How Does TCPA Affects My Business

 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was first drafted in 1991. It’s objective was to protect consumers from unwanted commercial calls, usually from telemarketing companies with auto dialers.

By the time it was updated last year, the communications industry had gone mobile. Those unscrupulous nuisance callers had found a whole new way to bother people: text messaging. 

The updated TCPA requires all marketer to obtain express, written consent before contacting people via cell phone. The new rules, laid down by the FCC to take effect on October 16 2013, made two key demands of mobile marketers:

• Prior express written consent required before telemarketing calls or text messages (manually dialed calls without pre-recorded messages are exempt).
• No ‘established business relationship exemption.’ Prior relationships are no longer sufficient reason to continue communications. Unambiguous written consent is obligatory.

In this case, ‘unambiguous’ means the consumer must have received a ‘clear and conspicuous disclosure’ that they will receive calls or text messages in the future. Furthermore, consent is not a condition of purchase, and users must give a phone number at which they can be reached.

The primary objective of the legislation is to prevent unwanted communication from for-profit enterprises, so there are a few exemptions. The only organizations granted special permission to make unsolicited calls and texts are:

• The user’s cellular carrier
• Debt collectors
• Schools
• Healthcare organizations

Regarding express consent, it’s important to note that the burden of proof falls on the advertiser. They must demonstrate unambiguous consent, or face stiff penalties: actual or statutory damages can run as high as $1500 per message/call. It will be up to the courts to determine the appropriate penalty in each case. Their decisions will largely depend on whether a company can be shown to have willfully violated the law. As with any recent legislation, many businesses will plead ignorance – at least the first time. 

To protect yourself against potential disputes, make sure you keep records of all communications, between your business and all customers, for a minimum of four years. Screenshots, date stamped data records, IP addresses – anything that could demonstrate consent can be used as evidence in your defense in the case of a class action suit.

As long as your business gets unambiguous consent from users, and maintains a record of that consent for four years, you will not fall afoul of the new TCPA legislation. For further details of the new requirements, visit the FCC website.

 

 

 

The Benefits of Encrypted Texting

Encrypted SMS messaging allows sensitive data such as medical, financial or legal information to be transmitted in a safe way. It’s becoming increasingly popular in hospitals – although many are still holding back from using such services. Why the resistance? And why, in certain industries, is encrypted texting an investment worth making?

Health officials are firmly onside. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) was created specifically to protect patient’s personal information from being misused or transmitted third parties. HIPPA guidelines have approved the use of encrypted texting in the healthcare system, and require all staff members to be fully trained on the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

It’s compliant - but encrypted texting is also efficient. It can easily be combined with extant services, such as virtual receptionists or live call centers. Used in conjunction, these technologies can save precious time in a world where every second counts.

Between a team of well-trained medical call center staff and encrypted technology, safe, fast, secure transmission of medical information is now possible. Equally, legal data can be shared between law firms and clients without fear of intrusion, and most banks use some sort of encrypted SMS messaging as part of their phone banking services.

When is the Optimal Time to Reach a Mobile Audience?

One of the most important things for mobile marketers to understand is the browsing habits of their audience. When do people most frequently use the web via their smartphone? More importantly, when are they most likely to look at promotional material and take advantage of special offers?

Though far from foolproof, click-through rates (CTRs) give a pretty good indication of when people are most likely to spend money online. Like a busy department store on a Saturday, there’s no guarantee that anyone browsing goods will buy anything, but most businesses will expect to make more sales compared to a rainy Tuesday morning when the store is empty.

Mobile users have spending patterns similar to bricks and mortar shoppers, according to recent research from AppFlood. The study analyzed around 300 million mobile ad impressions in the United States, taken between August and September 2013. The results show CTRs are 30% higher on weekends.

Click volumes are roughly the same on Saturdays and Sundays, starting at around 8am and continuing steadily until around 6pm. During the week, CTRs decrease throughout the evening, picking up again around 11pm (this is likely an indication of mobile users checking their devices before bedtime). Concurrently, desktop and laptop usage declines over the weekend, and after 5pm – when people knock off work – during the week. 

So what accounts for this dip in desktop/laptop usage at evenings and weekend? After all, almost everyone has one or the other (or both) at home. One explanation is a reluctance to use the same devices that people have been staring at all day at work. Also, mobile devices are so much easier to use; if you’re sitting on the couch with your phone in front of you, why get up and turn on a computer? It’s a few more unnecessary steps between you and the information you need.

For mobile marketing purposes, we can glean much valuable information from this data. Once you understand the motivation behind web habits, you can tailor your strategy to make the most of your audience. Studying CTR patterns will help you devise a more engaging, effective marketing campaign.

So if you’re a mobile marketing strategist looking to optimize ROIs, review your company’s CTR data and start creating solutions that target your audience at the right time, on the right day and in the right way.

mConnect -- an Affordable Mobile Learning Platform -- to Reduce Skills Gap in Emerging Markets

Publisher McGraw-Hill and Indian software firm Wipro made an interesting announcement yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:

The McGraw-Hill Companies, a premier global financial information and education company, and Wipro, a leading technology solutions provider, will work together to develop "mConnect," an open-standard mobile learning platform designed to bridge the skills gap in emerging markets.  Initial pilots in India will focus on the most critical needs for India's students and workers:  test preparation for entrance into universities that will best prepare them for the workplace and English-language training, an increasingly essential skill in the global economy.  The intention is to extend this program later to other countries in Asia and in Africa.

mConnect will offer low-income, rural or otherwise underserved students and workers personalized, adaptive education and assessment programs that can provide direct feedback in multiple modalities through cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices.  For students who want to establish and advance their careers by learning English, for example, mConnect will provide opportunities to hear conversations, review new vocabulary delivered via SMS and get personalized instruction that customizes the pace and presentation of material to match their learning needs.

Sounds like a great usage of text messaging. Read the entire release here.

TellMyCell Creates A Useful Guide For Texting Beginners

We recently created a new and extremely helpful 'texting dictionary'. It includes 70 texting terms and definitions which prove to be extraordinarily useful while texting. Every new texter has to read this!

To check it out, click here.