Not all Canadian short codes are used for mobile marketing, sms marketing or brand awareness. Many companies expose short codes while importing mobile numbers and “blasting” out SPAM from a dummy set (Mobile phone used to send out spam).
Bell has stepped in to combat sms spam. Bell has signed up with a third party provider to bring SPAM reporting access to its clients.
Basically, if you receive SPAM from an SMS short code that you have not participated in an opt in campaign, you may forward the message to short code 7726 (SPAM).
This is just one more reason why the CWTA needs to provision what companies can lease short codes. With so many mobile lists now available to the public, Mobile marketing needs to remain clean in Canada if it is to be recognized as a trusted service.
SMS marketing is a powerful service to instantly reach out to clients and build brand awareness. At the same time if an SMS short code ends up in the hands of the wrong company, SMS marketing’s image can be quickly tarnished.
