Spammers make fortune through unwanted iMessage ads  

苹果iMessage垃圾短信利益链:非法公司月进300万

在网上，提供群发iMessage广告短信服务的公司不少。这些公司几乎都承诺，系统能扫描选取活跃账号进行发送，不经过运营商拦截，不会被第三方软件拦截；最大可支持3000字符文本短信，并可发送文字、图片、视频等。[查看全文]

(ECNS) — Spammers make up to $500,000 a day by sending unwanted ads to iPhone users, according to the Beijing Daily.

For less than one cent per item, they help their clients send three to four million iMessage ads each day. IPhone users get a barrage of unwanted messages ranging from real estate ads and luxury goods to clothing and online games.

All that's needed is a computer-like device that costs $5,000.

With the device, sending ads to 100,000 users only takes one hour. These ads contain URL links, pictures or videos and up to 3,000 characters. Clients who purchase the service can obtain local users' cell phone numbers for free.

Cellular providers are trying to solve the puzzle. Blocking iMessage spam isn't an easy task as they are sent with a different gateway than that of regular messages.

Apple launched a tool in July allowing users to report spam on Message apps, but it's unclear how efficient it is.