Technology may change, but scams stay the same. After thriving on the Internet, hoaxes and nuisance messages are working their way into the wireless world -- first stop, your mobile phone.
In classic chain-letter style, a SMS (short message service) note is circulating between Australian mobile phone users, promising free services if recipients forward the message to their friends.
A fake announcement says that SMS messages can be sent between the networks of the nation's major mobile carriers, Telstra's Mobilenet, Cable & Wireless Optus and Vodaphone. Then the announcement promises the recipient free SMS messages between the carriers for six months, providing they send the message on.
"We don't offer deals over SMS messaging, the offer is not true," a spokesperson for C&W Optus said. "We recommend that customers don't pass it on and perpetuate the myth."
According to Telstra, the small fee that is charged for SMS messaging is a disincentive to customers forwarding hoax messages.
"When we first launched the inter-carrier agreement, people were sending messages through networks that didn't have a fee, [now] they think twice before sending them wildly when there is a fee," a spokesperson for Telstra said.
