After turmoil last week caused by information that Focus Media was sending SMS spam to Chinese users, China Mobile and China Unicom, the two major mobile service providers in China, have now each strengthened their management of wireless spam by launching hotlines of their own for users to report spam messages.
China Mobile's users can make the report by forwarding the spam message sender's number and message to 10086999 or directly calling the number 10086. China Mobile says it will send back a short message to the users notifying them about the reception of their report.
China Unicom's users can forward the spam message to 10010. Like China Mobile, China Unicom will reply with a message to users telling them about the reception of their report.
Spam messages have become a headache for mobile phone users. On March 15, World Consumer Rights Day, CCTV exposed seven spam message senders, including Focus Wireless, a subsidiary of Focus Media. Xu Da, general manager of China Mobile's Marketing Operations Department, says that mobile operators like them have undeniable responsibilities in stopping spam messages.