Vodafone gets stuck in to spam on your mobile

Vodafone has broken ranks with rival mobile phone operators to admit that spam on mobile handsets is a very real problem.

While other operators have been accused of burying their heads in the sand on this issue, Vodafone has admitted it's a problem and is advertising measures it has put in place to ease its users' spam problem.

Vodafone customers will be able to forward any spam they receive to a free number - 87726 or VSPAM on their keypad. Vodafone will then compile a report of all unsolicited messages received by its customers as well as forwarding all messages to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS).

And consumers will hopefully start to see justice done with unscrupulous marketers bombarding their mobile.

ICSTIS has taken a reassuringly hard line on companies abusing SMS services to spam consumers. Last year the organisation hit one company with a £50,000 fine after receiving 200 complaints from aggrieved users.

At the time ICSTIS director George Kidd said: "We will not hesitate to take swift action against the small minority of service providers who think they can abuse public confidence and trust in text messaging in order to make money with no regard for consumers whatsoever."

Earlier this year silicon.com revealed that more than two thirds of us have received a spam text message on our mobile phones - raising fears that the device may fall foul of the kind of bulk mail marketing which is threatening to cripple email.