Someone talking down on you, look for them

The message is so stupid I can't believe people are calling the number. I guess the people are stupid.

http://www.chron.com/disp/commnts.mpl/front/5756451.html

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Cell phone scammer preying on city's zoo
Park seeks FBI probe after text messages swamp switchboard with thousands of calls


By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Zoo officials have asked the FBI to investigate a possibly malicious texting campaign that has deluged the main switchboard with telephone calls, including 3,500 received on Sunday — about 10 times the normal volume.

The calls are prompted when a cell phone user receives a cryptic text message, such as: "Somebody talking down on you, look for them." The text is followed by the zoo's main phone number: 713-533-6500.

The phone calls have come in spurts since April 22, said Brian Hill, a zoo spokesman. He urged people who receive text messages with the zoo's phone number not to call.

"We had hoped the problem would blow over, but the calls keep coming and coming," Hill said.

It's unclear who is behind the campaign. The text messages often appear to have been forwarded by friends or family members, Hill said, indicating that the address books of phone users have been hacked.

Nearly all U.S. cell phone carriers offer users an option to store their address books online, in case of a lost phone and SIM card. Many users also store their contacts on other Web sites, such as Hotmail or Gmail.

Several cellular service providers said they doubted their online repositories of address book information had been breached.

"We have no evidence that our online databases have been compromised or hacked in any way," said Sheryl Sellaway, a spokeswoman for Verizon Wireless.

The sad truth, said technology specialist Michael Garfield, is that the same malicious people and companies that began sending spam e-mails 30 years ago have migrated their trade into text messages.

"They have found a way to exploit the devices that every one of us carries in our pocket, purse or on our belt," said Garfield, who hosts a radio talk show.

Once an address book has been accessed, an automated "bot" can send text messages to a user as if the message were from a friend or other contact in an address book.

It's important, said Garfield, that users not reply to any suspicious text messages. Users also should contact their cell phone provider, which may be able to trace the origin of the call.

"This is definitely a variety of spam," said Stephanie Vinge, a spokeswoman for Sprint. "We've asked the zoo for more information to address the problem. We very aggressively fight spam on behalf of our customers."

During a single day, Vinge said, millions of text messages cross the Sprint network. Of those messages, the network identifies 65 percent as spam and blocks them.

eric.berger@chron.com