VZW targets wireless spammers

Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against Nevada-based I-VEST Global Corp. and various anonymous organizations alleging each has sent unsolicited wireless spam to its customers.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., alleges that I-VEST attempted to send more than 12 million text messages to Verizon Wireless handsets beginning in April. The spam reportedly offered information about buying stocks or real estate, according to the lawsuit.
Filtering and network monitoring helped the carrier keep the majority of the messages from every getting through to their customers, although 5,000 messages did end up getting delivered.
“While in this case, we were able to block most of the messages from reaching our customers’ handsets, even one unwanted text message is one too many. Verizon Wireless is committed to using our legal and technical resources to the fullest extent on behalf of our customers to uncover and stop the companies and individuals that engage in wireless spam,” said Steven Zipperstein, VP and general counsel at the No. 2 carrier.
Verizon Wireless said it processes millions of text messages each day-more than 22.3 billion in the first quarter. Wireless spam is typically sent in high volume, which can place a strain on the performance of its wireless network, the carrier noted.
The lawsuit, which asks for a permanent injunction and financial damages, alleges violations of the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Acts as well as state fraud and privacy laws.