Safeguards demanded over text message scam
A senior parliamentary backbench member of Fianna Fail has demanded safeguards to prevent a ‘‘sex text message’’ scam spreading to Ireland from Britain.
Martin Brady TD claimed the practice could end up with mobile phone users paying for text messages they did not want.
He said that would happen if recipients responded to introductory ‘‘hi sexy’’ messages that were sent to them.
Mr Brady called on the Vodafone company, now the owners of Eircell, to ensure reverse text messages could not happen in Ireland.
He said: ‘‘There has been a huge boom in the use of text messages. Millions were sent over the Christmas and New Year period, and it is a growing phenomenon amongst younger people in particular.
‘‘Consequently, unscrupulous firms will try to muscle in on a boom market and exploit it.
‘‘The use of reverse text messaging should be strictly controlled by the networks, the ideal managers of system services.’’
