Free Apple spam targets thousands

Thousands of Irish mobile phone users across all the major networks have been inundated with bogus text messages from US numbers over the Christmas period claiming they have won non-existent Apple products including iPhones and iPads.

Multiple version of the spam text message have been sent to phone users and while there is no indication as yet that they contain any malicious software and the messages do not seek sensitive financial information, the messages are in clear breach of data protection legislation.

Dozens of people contacted The Irish Times yesterday to say they had been targeted by the spam messages since Christmas Eve.

One of the variants starts by wish recipients "Merry Holidays". It then goes on to say "you have been by chance chosen to redeem a (sic) Apple iPad 3," before urging people to visit a website after which they are prompted to enter a code which is included in the text message. Once the code is entered recipients are told they have won a prize but are them immediately redirected to the auction site www.ziinga.com .

Ziinga is a three-year old web based company which claims to sell high-tech products for prices which it says are "well below the market rate". It is owned by a company based in the British Virgin Islands.

The Irish Times contacted the auction site yesterday and while a spokesperson was unavailable a call centre operative confirmed that a large number of calls from Ireland had been received over the last few days but she insisted the spam SMS messages had not come from the site.

She said no such promotion was being run by viinga.com at present and she claimed that the company was trying to establish who was behind the messages.

While there are clear EU-wide laws prohibiting the sending of unsolicited marketing messages via text message, the problem is growing and can be almost impossible for regulators to police, particularly if the messages originate outside of the EU as is the case with the current wave of spam messages.

Anyone who receives such a message in the days ahead can either report in to their phone provider and to ComReg or adopt the "if something seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true" approach and just delete it.

and iPads.

Multiple version of the spam text message have been sent to phone users and while there is no indication as yet that they contain any malicious software and the messages do not seek sensitive financial information, the messages are in clear breach of data protection legislation.

Dozens of people contacted The Irish Times yesterday to say they had been targeted by the spam messages since Christmas Eve.

One of the variants starts by wish recipients "Merry Holidays". It then goes on to say "you have been by chance chosen to redeem a (sic) Apple iPad 3," before urging people to visit a website after which they are prompted to enter a code which is included in the text message. Once the code is entered recipients are told they have won a prize but are them immediately redirected to the auction site www.ziinga.com .

Ziinga is a three-year old web based company which claims to sell high-tech products for prices which it says are "well below the market rate". It is owned by a company based in the British Virgin Islands.

The Irish Times contacted the auction site yesterday and while a spokesperson was unavailable a call centre operative confirmed that a large number of calls from Ireland had been received over the last few days but she insisted the spam SMS messages had not come from the site.

She said no such promotion was being run by viinga.com at present and she claimed that the company was trying to establish who was behind the messages.

While there are clear EU-wide laws prohibiting the sending of unsolicited marketing messages via text message, the problem is growing and can be almost impossible for regulators to police, particularly if the messages originate outside of the EU as is the case with the current wave of spam messages.

Anyone who receives such a message in the days ahead can either report in to their phone provider and to ComReg or adopt the "if something seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true" approach and just delete it.