Mobile security firm AdaptiveMobile has released an interesting study that shows the breakdown of SMS spam between Canadian provinces. The results were based on a six-month collection period (December 2013 – June 2014), and while the company did not release specific numbers, AdaptiveMobile states that unsolicited messages are on the rise, even with the upcoming changes to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). The Act will take effect on July 1st, 2014.
Quebec was targeted more than any other province over the period, netting 39.6% of SMS attacks, followed by British Columbia (Vancouver) with 9.07%. Toronto, Ontario accounted a surprisingly low 4.11% overall. The specific categories consisted of ‘Adult’, ‘Aggressive Marketing’, ‘Giveaway’ and ‘Other’.
Adult spam was high in December, specifically in British Columbia, attempting to rope people into visiting an adult or dating site. The giveaway and marketing spam attempts to notify subscribers that they’ve won some sort of a lottery or prize, while the ‘Other’ category hits your device in the form of a pharmaceutical giveaway or payday loan approvals.
“With the amount of SMS spam being sent to Canadians on the rise, we welcome the new anti-spam legalisation which should help curb this trend by clearly defining what does and does not constitute messaging abuse,” said AdamptiveMobile’s Simon McGloin.
According to the CWTA, Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Canadians approximately sent 93.5 billion text messages in 2013.
Source: AdaptiveMobile
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