Mobile spam is impacting most U.S. adults

Mobile spam has become prevalent, with the majority of U.S. adults who text reporting that they have received an unsolicited text message, according to a survey conducted online by Harris Interactive among 2,475 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, of whom 1,801 were identified as texters.

Findings from the survey include:

• Most U.S. adults (72 percent) use their mobile phone to send and receive text messages
• 72 percent of have received an unsolicited texted message
• 60 percent of those who send/receive texts received “mobile spam” within the last twelve months
• 13 percent of U.S. adults who received an unsolicited text message clicked on a link in the message
• 9 percent of U.S. adults who received an unsolicited text message called a number provided in the message.

The likelihood of engaging in risky behavior in response to unsolicited text messages dramatically increases among younger people.

Of those who received unsolicited text messages, 20 percent between the ages of 18-34 have clicked on a link in an unsolicited text message, compared with 7 percent of those 55 and over.

Additionally, 16 percent of those ages 18-34 have called a number in an unsolicited text message versus 3 percent of those ages 55 and over.

A majority of U.S. adults who send/receive texts – 64 percent – said it was important or very important that their carrier have a mechanism in place to report mobile spam. However, 72 percent reported that they were unsure if their carrier had such a process in place.

Furthermore, 41 percent of mobile users who send/receive texts reported they would text “Stop” in response to an unsolicited text message. However, by acknowledging spam messages, these individuals may unwittingly validate their phone number for malicious senders, opening themselves up for additional spam messages.