NBI investigates politicos' 'text blast' SMS spam

UPDATED 8AUG2014 Government agents are now investigating possible links between some politicians and a company selling "text blast" equipment, whose premises in San Juan City they raided earlier this week.

"Text blasting" involves sending text messages en masse to millions of mobile subscribers using GSM phones.

 

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it is not discounting the possibility of the text blast equipment being used for politicians' propaganda, radio dzBB reported Thursday.

 

NBI agents noted that the text blast equipment is capable of sending spam or unsolicited text messages to millions of mobile phone subscribers, the report added.

 

On Tuesday, the NBI raided the premises of the company selling the "text blast" devices.

 

The raid stemmed from a complaint from a telecommunications company, the dzBB report said.

 

On the other hand, the NBI also said it is looking into the possibility scammers are using the equipment to send bogus notifications and solicitations to mobile phone subscribers.

Dismissed charges

In a letter to GMA News Online dated July 15, 2014, the company clarified that the charges against it had been dismissed in August 2012, "in view of the absence of technical person (sic) in the investigation hearings and that such technical person did not execute any statement, affidavit or report to attest the alleged illegality of the subject device confiscated during the raid conducted by the NBI." — TJD, GMA News