SPAM Issues w/ Sprint

Hey, I am new to this place, and I was hoping somebody may be able to help me out with some advice on this SPAM issue I am having. I have been a Sprint customer for the better part of 6 years now, I have had the same phone number the entire time I have been with the company, and do not wish to change. it. However as of Sunday (Dec. 11) I have been recieving anywhere from 10-20 text messages a day from an unknown source. I have a Sanyo VI-2300 Phone, and I don't think it is able to convert whatever the message is supposed to be into valid text but here is basically what I recieve multiple times a day:

------From-------
<Unknown>
------Message---
Vnotes config
CFGs1301.0=10c06
a5ecc2d5c19b66bi
qvJSXME//CM
------End--------

Now, the message varies, but the Vnotes config up to the = sign is always the same. I have searched for the Vnotes on the internet and it seems to be some sort of Push to Talk Messaging Service by a company named Core Mobility. According to their website they are partnered with Sprint, but Sprint is claiming otherwise. Regardless I am getting charged for these messages, and I have been credited by sprint, had them shut down my text messaging ability, and have spent over 2 hours trying to get to the bottom of this with them over the phone. Unfortunately, Sprint does not seem that interested in fixing the problem or finding a particularly good solution to it (aside from crediting my account, which they claim they will no longer do. as well as shutting down my text messaging capabilities which has not stopped them as well). According to *2, they can't trace the messages because there is no SMS number attached to them, or any sort of domain. I have even gone so far as to email and call this Core Mobility, but nobody ever answers their phone (not suprising).

I am frustrated beyond belief by both Sprint, and their lack of effort in trying to fix this. I have decided to try my hand here and see if anyone has encountered this particular problem before and if they have found a solution or could offer some guidance.

I'd appreciate any help,
USGUY1

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› See More: SPAM Issues w/ Sprint

sounds like you have some information that might be useful to track these guys down. unsolicited spam mail that provides no way to opt-out is illegal, and you can file a report with the US Attorney General. i don't know how much good it will do, but they supposedly track and prosecute these illegal spammers whenever they can catch them. i hope this helps!

http://www.atg.wa.gov/junkemail/ <--- us attorney general

I doubt it's SPAM because there is no message in the text messages you are getting. And yes, Sprint has no way of blocking these messages... Actually, you don't get charged for them unless you actually read the messages on your phone. But I can imagine it is still annoying... Really don't know how to get this taken care of.

I am having the same issue and have been on the phone with Sprint everyday - with different results but the most recent contact with Sprint mentioned that they have been trying to contact coremobility as well. Interesting thing is that their contact is out through Jan 10th!

One note - I had just changed plans right before this started happening. Not sure if that helps. Sprint has been good on the phone but seems to be helpless in this particular issue.

I'll repost if I have an update but this could be more of a SPAM issue than email because texting is not free. I have a good sized plan but if I go over, it's .10 per text. Right now I'm getting at least 20 per day from just the vnotes alone.

Think about what would happen if you started getting spam on your phone just like your email!

That is my issue with Sprint right now. I had them turn off my text messages, but I am still recieving these things. I am not getting them at all hours of the night and day. Since cleared all of them out about a week after I made this post I have recieved 211 messages from the same source. It is very frustrating. I have spent hours on the phone with sprint trying to get this fixed, but they have no solution, and I have to continue getting credits to my account.

I'm very sorry you all have experienced this problem. I am also sorry that I have only just now been able to do something about it.

I have just disabled several MDN's with the following last for digits:

0724
1145
5165

I hope anyone here is in this list. If not please feel free to contact me to resolve the issue.

FYI:
There is a known issue that occurs when a handset is misconfigured with the wrong MDN. Usually, the MDN is entered incorrectly when the handset is provisioned at the store. This doesn't affect voice calls (because the network uses a piece of data called the MSID), but it does affect text messaging, Vnotes and Picture mail. It also makes the "press 1 to dial voicemail" function inoperative.

When a fat-fingered phone attempts to send a Vnote, the server says "thanks; let me send you a password seed." That seed is sent via SMS to the number the Vnotes handset reported. Usually, the number is random and the message is lost in the ether. However, in a handful of cases the number corresponds to another sprint customer. Hence the "spam." The messages are sent via no-bill, so while it is annoying to the customer, it doesn't cost anything.

Hi folks: My name is Doug van Kirk and I'm the product manager at Core Mobility responsible for VoiceSMS. We supply VoiceSMS, ReadyLink clients and other cool applications to Sprint. Isaac Finnegan (see above post) is also part of the Core team.

I've tried to contact several of you individually; apologies for any inconvenience this problem is causing you. The good news is that you are not being billed for these text messages. They are "system" messages sent from within the Sprint network, so they don't count against your monthly message allocation. It also means that disabling text messaging won't stop them.

So what's causing the problem? In a nutshell, someone else on Sprint has a misconfigured handset that is attempting to register on our servers using your phone number. Our server is sending a configuration message to the phone number that handset provides (handsets with Core Mobility s/w process these messages silently; the customer never sees them).

This can occur if the Sprint employee in the store mis-enters the number on the handset or if a handset is recycled without being properly reset. (The technical explanation: Someone else has your phone number programmed as their MDN).

This misconfiguration only affects services like VoiceSMS,PictureMail, and to a lesser extent, text messaging. Voice calling works fine, so it's likely the person with the misconfigured phone doesn't have any idea their phone is misconfigured. Even worse, there's no way for us to figure out who this person is because the only thing we know is their number, which actually belongs to you.

We've taken steps to stop the "Spam" and this will have NO impact on your ability to use any of the services of your handset. However, if you are a picturemail user, you may find pictures in your account from another customer.

If you experience this problem again, please feel free to contact [email protected]. or contact me directly [email protected].

Hey Doug,

Thanks for all of the great information. I have a sinking suspision I know the number of the person who is supposed to have your service and is plaguing me with these config text messages. Is there anyway for Core Mobility or Sprint to confirm or deny if it is this person. Their number is 1 digit off from mine, and they frequently call my number thinking it is their voicemail (I still can't figure out why this person doesn't just hit 1 on their phone, but we all can't be the sharpest knife). If there is a way I would love it, but if not hopefully this will all get sorted out some how.

Thanks,
Colin

Actually, this person probablly is pressing "1" to dial his voicemail. That's another symptom of the misconfiguration. Normally, the "1" key dials your own phone number, which the network routes to Voicemail. Unfortunately, when this person presses 1 it dials your phone instead.

If you send his number to me ([email protected]), I'll have Sprint contact him directly. He needs to return to a Sprint store and have his phone reprogrammed.

- Doug van Kirk

any chance something like this can happen to us users at cingular?

Yikes

you can write back STOP or sometimes theres a specific number or code to type if u dont want to recieve messages anymore. also, call sprint or if its possible GO there and show them the messages and fight it. you shouldnt be recieving any spam especially unwanted spam... defiantely try to get into a sprint store and handle that.

Updates to the info in this thread...

It seems that quite a few users still stumble upon this old thread when they experience this type of issue.

A lot has changed since this was originally posted. First of all, the guys the email addresses aren't quite accurate anymore, since Coremobility is now part of Smith Micro. Also, Sprint does provisioning of most of their handsets over the air, as opposed to manually programming it at the store --this reduces the chances of misprogramming greatly.

If anyone is still having a similar type of issue with configuration SMS's coming from 9485 or 9016, please contacts Sprint Care, and have them escalate a "CTMS" ticket regarding SMS from 9485/9016. This should get the ticket to the right place to get fixed.

There's one other reason besides a mis-programmed handset that could cause this --and that's if you have an old handset that is not blocked from accessing data that's powered on or swapped to another number, but the data profile is incorrect. This will cause the old handset to misreport it's MDN and give similar symptoms (the SMS spam). If you have such a handset, or recently gave your handset to a friend or a family member, check the data profile of that handset (usually menu-->settings-->phone info) and verify the phone number there matches what should be on the handset. If it does not match, try an "update data profile" on that handset to correct the issue.