Quote

Text messages about accidents, debt management and PPI We are aware that lots of people are receiving unsolicited text messages (SMS) relating to accident claims, debts or mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). The messages vary in content but will typically say that you are entitled to money because of an accident, debt or mis-sold payment protection insurance. You are then asked to text ‘stop’ or ‘claim’ in response to the text. Who is sending the messages? We believe the messages are being sent by lead generation companies – companies that are trying to find people who will respond so they can sell those people’s details to claims or debt management firms. The companies behind these messages are looking to earn money by selling these leads. Where did they get my details? In most cases we believe the companies sending the messages don’t hold any information about you – including whether you have actually had an accident, have debts or PPI – before they send you the message. Many of the people who have told us they are receiving these texts have never provided their mobile phone number to any organisations and have not had a recent accident or had any of the problems referred to in the text message. We believe the companies sending the texts are randomly generating mobile telephone numbers and sending several hundreds, or thousands, of texts in the hope that a proportion may reach the mobile phone of someone who has recently had an accident, or been sold a financial product, and who will then reply. Are these messages illegal? The messages appear to breach the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations because they are being sent to individuals without prior consent and without identifying the sender. The messages also appear to breach other legislation and codes of practice. What should I do? The law says that any organisation looking to offer this kind of service must identify themselves when they contact you. The companies sending these messages are therefore breaking the law and we would therefore advise that you do not reply to these messages. How can I stop receiving messages from these organisations? You can report them to your network operator, who may be able to prevent further spam from the originating number. Unfortunately as the numbers often change, your network provider cannot guarantee to stop all unsolicited messages. You can either contact your network operator’s customer services or use one of the reporting numbers below: Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Three: Forward the SMS to 7726 Vodafone: Forward the SMS to 87726 What is the ICO doing about this? We are tackling this problem in three ways: Working closely with other regulators and industry bodies to try to identify the companies responsible for these messages and put an end to any illegal practices. Educating and warning the public about the problem to stop people being able to make money from this practice. Educating organisations about the risks of accepting leads generated through SPAM texts. Do you need me to complain to the ICO to help with your investigation? If you have received one of these text messages but have not responded, then we do not need you to complain to us. We have a large amount of evidence to support our investigation and we will provide updates on our website as this progresses. If you have responded, and have evidence that suggests your details have been passed on to one of these claims companies, please call our Helpline. We would be particularly interested to discuss your case and we will tell you if we need you to send us more details. Survey on marketing text messages from an unnamed company which you did not ask for If you have received text messages looking to sell you a service but the company has not provided you with their name, we would be grateful if you could spare a minute to complete a short survey we are conducting. We already have lots of detailed evidence to support our investigations but would like to know how people may have been affected by spam texts sent by unnamed organisations. What we learn from this survey will be used to inform our broader regulatory activities in this area. No personal data is collected as part of this survey. Do insurance companies routinely provide their customer details to claims companies? We are investigating these recent allegations. Disclosing customer details to third party organisations is a serious matter and potentially a criminal offence if it is done by employees without the permission of their employer.

Quote from: acr

When it comes to spam texts about accidents, debt management & PPI  this is from the ICO website: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/marketing/texts.aspx Quote Text messages about accidents, debt management and PPI We are aware that lots of people are receiving unsolicited text messages (SMS) relating to accident claims, debts or mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). The messages vary in content but will typically say that you are entitled to money because of an accident, debt or mis-sold payment protection insurance. You are then asked to text ‘stop’ or ‘claim’ in response to the text. Who is sending the messages? We believe the messages are being sent by lead generation companies – companies that are trying to find people who will respond so they can sell those people’s details to claims or debt management firms. The companies behind these messages are looking to earn money by selling these leads. Where did they get my details? In most cases we believe the companies sending the messages don’t hold any information about you – including whether you have actually had an accident, have debts or PPI – before they send you the message. Many of the people who have told us they are receiving these texts have never provided their mobile phone number to any organisations and have not had a recent accident or had any of the problems referred to in the text message. We believe the companies sending the texts are randomly generating mobile telephone numbers and sending several hundreds, or thousands, of texts in the hope that a proportion may reach the mobile phone of someone who has recently had an accident, or been sold a financial product, and who will then reply. Are these messages illegal? The messages appear to breach the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations because they are being sent to individuals without prior consent and without identifying the sender. The messages also appear to breach other legislation and codes of practice. What should I do? The law says that any organisation looking to offer this kind of service must identify themselves when they contact you. The companies sending these messages are therefore breaking the law and we would therefore advise that you do not reply to these messages. How can I stop receiving messages from these organisations? You can report them to your network operator, who may be able to prevent further spam from the originating number. Unfortunately as the numbers often change, your network provider cannot guarantee to stop all unsolicited messages. You can either contact your network operator’s customer services or use one of the reporting numbers below: Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Three: Forward the SMS to 7726 Vodafone: Forward the SMS to 87726 What is the ICO doing about this? We are tackling this problem in three ways: Working closely with other regulators and industry bodies to try to identify the companies responsible for these messages and put an end to any illegal practices. Educating and warning the public about the problem to stop people being able to make money from this practice. Educating organisations about the risks of accepting leads generated through SPAM texts. Do you need me to complain to the ICO to help with your investigation? If you have received one of these text messages but have not responded, then we do not need you to complain to us. We have a large amount of evidence to support our investigation and we will provide updates on our website as this progresses. If you have responded, and have evidence that suggests your details have been passed on to one of these claims companies, please call our Helpline. We would be particularly interested to discuss your case and we will tell you if we need you to send us more details. Survey on marketing text messages from an unnamed company which you did not ask for If you have received text messages looking to sell you a service but the company has not provided you with their name, we would be grateful if you could spare a minute to complete a short survey we are conducting. We already have lots of detailed evidence to support our investigations but would like to know how people may have been affected by spam texts sent by unnamed organisations. What we learn from this survey will be used to inform our broader regulatory activities in this area. No personal data is collected as part of this survey. Do insurance companies routinely provide their customer details to claims companies? We are investigating these recent allegations. Disclosing customer details to third party organisations is a serious matter and potentially a criminal offence if it is done by employees without the permission of their employer.

jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)    Why I have left Plusnet (warning: long post!)    Broadband: Andrews & Arnold Home::1 (FTTC 80/20) Line rental: Pulse 8 Home Line Rental (£14.40/month) Mobile: iD mobile (£4/month)

Quote from: pierre_pierre

0207 is London phone code

Quote from: IanSn

Quote from: pierre_pierre 0207 is London phone code oops, yes, it was 20