The chances are good that if you’re a smartphone user, you’ve received more than a few spam texts. Some might be outrageous, such as sending explicit images. Others might be subtle social engineering scams that look legit but are really just looking for you to hand over private information. Thankfully, T-Mobile is making a change in 2024 that could help curb at least some of these texts.
Starting on January 1, 2024, the Uncarrier will levy fines against third-party organizations that use the T-Mobile network to send scam, spam, and illegal texts. As announced by Vonage — a marketing company that offers brands a way to communicate with potential customers using text messages — and first spotted by Cord Cutters News, T-Mobile will levy $500, $1,000, or $2,000 fines against companies that do this. The amount of the fine will depend on the text’s category, which breaks down like this:
- Tier 1: $2,000
- For phishing, smishing, social engineering
- Tier 2: $1,000
- For illegal content
- Tier 3: $500
- For all other violations
We assume these new fines will help prevent at least some spam and scam texts from making their way to your phone. Obviously, this won’t deter individual scammers, nor will it stop you from getting inundated with messages when you accidentally agree to receive marketing texts from a company. But scammers/spammers using companies like Vonage will now have cash on the line if they maliciously use T-Mobile’s network, which could deter them from bothering.
So far, we’ve seen no word from Verizon or AT&T about similar fines. Hopefully, they’ll jump on board, too.
