Let’s see if adding a number to WASPA’s Do Not Contact list actually stops junk SMS!
A few months ago I read this article on Business Insider that described how to add your number to WASPA’s Do Not Contact (DNC) list to opt out of receiving unsolicited marketing SMSes. Naturally, I was intrigued because SMS spam makes me angry.
Imagine this guy is holding an iPhone and you’ll see me reading yet another SMS from a bank I’ve never been associated with try to convince me to get more life cover.
Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash
What is spam/junk/unsolicited SMS?
I use the above terms interchangably to refer to any SMS you receive as part of a direct SMS marketing campaign that you have never authorized. If you’re paranoid about OTPs and other important SMSes being stopped, these are not direct SMS marketing and therefore should not be affected.
The Opt Out Process
You have 2 options:
- SMS BLOCK to 40662 (up to 50c per message)
- Call *120*69269# (USSD) (20c per 20 seconds)
(Reference for Cost and Contact details here)
My Experience
Before using the SMS opt out method, I first spent a month counting all the spam SMS I received. Then, after leaving a week’s grace period for the WASPA-accredited SMS providers to remove me from their contact lists, I spent another month counting any unsolicited messages received.
The data culminated in this lovely chart here:
As you can see, it’s worked great for me! No more spam!
Conclusion
This is really a no-brainer. You should opt-out now. Well, unless you enjoy getting marketing SMS you never asked for. In that case, uh, ignore me.
The Future
Importantly, this opt-out is only for direct SMS marketing campaigns. Companies that you’ve allowed to contact you may still use SMS as a contact method. Since my overarching plan was to greatly minimise any automated SMS I receive, I’ll have to contact these companies and kindly request (force) them to switch over to using email instead. Wish me luck.
If you have any questions/would like to share your experience with SMS spam please leave a reply below. If you want to be notified when a new post is published, click here. Thanks for reading!
…and don’t accept SMS marketing you’ve not agreed to!
Photo by Samuel Ryde on Unsplash
(Featured image remixed from this photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash)
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