iMessage spam messages received by Apple mobile phone users. Beijing News reporter Wang Zicheng photographed
containing iMessage spam suspected of gambling.
iMessage "casino" ads induce users to download gambling-related apps; people familiar with the matter said that there are certain deficiencies in relevant laws and regulations to control iMessage spam
Recently, the proliferation of Apple iMessage spam has received widespread attention. The Beijing News reported last week that Apple users often receive iMessage spam messages containing casino and gambling advertisements, invoicing advertisements, loans, etc.
Apple issued a statement on August 3 saying that it is exploring more ways to further reduce spam. The latest news is that Apple is in contact with domestic telecommunications companies and exploring other methods to alleviate the trouble caused by spam messages.
html A Beijing News reporter investigated on August 6 and learned that iMessage “casino” advertisements lured users to download gambling-related apps. Some users reported that this gambling software is actually a scam. To send an iMessage, you must first obtain the user ID. According to a reporter's investigation, there is an ID scanner on the market that costs only 1,200 yuan. This software can scan more than 10,000 real Apple IDs in one hour.There is still some debate about the management of iMessage information. The reporter learned that iMessage is an instant messaging software launched by Apple, which is different from the SMS/MMS business of operators. Therefore, iMessage spam is an Internet spam problem, not text message spam. At present, there are certain deficiencies in relevant laws and regulations.
Behind the "casino" advertisement is a gambling-related APP
Many Apple mobile phone users reported that most of the iMessage spam they received recently were related to gambling, casinos, etc. Some users said that an iMessage spam message showed, "Download to get 88 cash, young model in the club, villa near the sea, join the agent and own it immediately". Words such as "Liying International·Make Millions a Month" appeared in the information. After clicking on the information, it jumped to the download link of the "Entertainment Navigation-New, More Efficient, Accurate and Practical" APP on the APP Store. This APP is described as "navigating your life, leisure and entertainment, providing you with more efficient, accurate and practical entertainment navigation", and the developer is Shawn Trotter.
In the comment area of the APP, some users called it a deceptive gambling software. They would not refund money for various reasons after making profits, and the platform would also privately deduct account funds. “A typical player will take the money when he loses, and he will take it when the player wins.” Don’t even think about it, it’s the most rubbish entertainment city.” Another user said, “This software is suspected of online gambling and I hope the official will delete it directly.” Reporter
downloaded and opened the APP. On the homepage, there were sections suspected of gambling such as "lottery games", "QQ points lottery" and "Hong Kong horse racing". At the top of the homepage, advertisements for franchise agents are scrolling. One of them is "It is not a dream to make millions every day at home." After clicking, there is an introduction to the agency model: "After successful registration, users can bet for their own entertainment and earn commissions from downline members. "Entertain and make money."
Another iMessage spam message contained the words "Macau Venetian Casino", and when clicked, it was an APP download link called "The Best Football Solo Competition". The developer of this APP is Frederic Chau, and the category is Games. In the comment area, users posted comments such as "Be careful of scammers" and "Black lottery plus fraud".
downloads and enters the APP, and the registration login page of "Macau Venetian Online Live Real Money Gambling" pops up. The homepage is distributed with sections such as "Live Video", "Electronic Games" and "Lottery Games".
In addition, "Confessions of an A-grade product" is also a spam content that Apple users often receive. After the reporter added the WeChat ID left in the message, the other party said that the iMessage spam was sent by the company boss and the advertising company, and he did not know the specific situation. Some industry insiders engaged in the A-level business said that iMessage is usually not used to promote products because the inspection is stricter. If iMessage is used, the targeted customers are unknown, and there is little meaning in casting a wide net.
The account scanner scans more than 10,000 Apple IDs in one hour
To send iMessage spam, you must first obtain the user ID. Who is selling Apple accounts?
html On August 6, a reporter contacted a person selling an Apple ID scanner on QQ. The other party said that there were two scanners for sale, one for scanning Apple ID and one for detecting mobile phone numbers. , priced at 1,200 yuan and 2,000 yuan respectively. The other party said that its software can scan more than 10,000 IDs in an hour. The reporter asked the other party whether the scanned IDs can be used to send text messages directly. The other party said that the scanned IDs are all real IDs and can be used to send group text messages directly. Staff at, which sells iMessage push software on the mobile phone, said that if you send group messages to a QQ email address, the software can automatically detect which email addresses have registered Apple IDs. This software can be used to operate the mobile phone to send group iMessage push messages. There is no upper limit per day, but the mobile phone You can't send as many as 10,000 messages a day, and the speed is slow. You can only send a few thousand messages a day at most. A set of fast software costs tens of thousands of yuan. A salesperson of
, a software that captures web page information, said that as long as the content displayed on the web page can be captured, if the email address is displayed on the web page, it can be captured directly.
In addition to ID scanners, there are also people selling Apple IDs directly online. A person who sells Apple ID numbers on QQ said that the success rate of pushing an ID number is 80 cents for 20 to 30% of the time, 1.1 yuan for 40 to 50% of the time, 2.5 yuan for 70 to 80% of the time, and 6 yuan for more than 90% of the time. The reporter asked how to judge the success rate, and the other party said that even if it is sent to the user's mobile phone, a good ID will send more tweets, and a bad ID will naturally have fewer tweets. The other party also stated that the assessment of the quality of the ID number is a trade secret.
Then who is using Apple ID to send spam messages?
A reporter from the Beijing News searched on the search engine using the keyword "iMessage mass sending" and found that there are many platforms that provide related services. They set different price ranges based on the number of tweets, and the charging standards vary.
reporter asked about the quotations of the two platforms. The quotation sent by one of them showed that the price of mass sending 10,000 items is 0.18 yuan/item, 20,000 items 0.16 yuan/item, 50,000 items 0.14 yuan/item, and 50,000 items. The above prices need to be discussed in detail. The platform also provides data screening services at a price of 300 yuan per 10,000 items, for example, only sending them to female users. Another platform quoted 0.08 yuan/item, and 0.07 yuan/item for more than 100,000 items. Both
platforms indicate that they can send any content, including sensitive content such as gambling and invoicing.
Apple: is exploring more ways to reduce spam
Beijing citizen Wang Yucen (pseudonym) told reporters that whenever she receives iMessage spam, she chooses to report it directly. However, she said this did not have much effect and she would still receive other spam messages.
Beijing News reporters also discovered that reporting spam information does not fundamentally solve the problem. Although many iMessage spam messages have blocked the sending account, the criminals will change the number and continue sending, even the content remains unchanged.
It is understood that one person who can receive iMessage messages is a mobile phone number and the other is an email address. In theory, as long as the other party has these mobile phone numbers or email IDs, they can send spam messages.
Some netizens provided a guide saying that if you remove the email address and only use the mobile phone number as the iMessage contact method, there will be no spam messages. However, reporters have actually tested that after deleting the email address, you can still receive iMessage spam through your mobile phone number; some people suggest turning off iMessage directly. However, as a result, Apple users will not be able to receive and send iMessages normally. Is there a better way to manage
? For example, keyword blocking, etc. However, according to Apple's previous announcement, iMessage is end-to-end encrypted, and Apple's principle is not to monitor or determine which messages are spam.
Last week, Apple issued a statement on iMessage spam, saying that it is exploring more ways to further reduce spam, including using more advanced machine learning models to identify spam and launching more tools to block malicious messages. account.
Apple users can filter unwanted contacts or phone numbers, block messages from unknown senders, and report iMessages that appear to be spam.In the iOS 11 system, Apple launched a third-party APP that can detect potential spam text messages and move them to a dedicated folder.
[Governance]
There are certain deficiencies in relevant laws and regulations
iMessage Although the front-end interface is "disguised" as a text message, it is essentially an instant messaging software launched by Apple, which is different from the operator's SMS/MMS business.
According to an insider close to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a reporter from the Beijing News said that not only the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is responsible for supervising spam text messages and online information, but also the Ministry of Public Security, the Cyberspace Administration of China and other departments will jointly manage them. iMessage cannot currently be called spam text messages, but it is Internet spam.
Another source close to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that all spam messages and harassing calls can be divided into four links - strong business demand, leakage of accurate user information, online marketing disturbing people, and offline transactions. Through these four links, These links form a closed loop.
The above-mentioned sources believe that to control iMessage spam, source management should be strengthened and management of merchants should be strengthened. At present, there are certain deficiencies in relevant laws and regulations. The restrictive clauses only emphasize that advertising information must not be sent without the user's consent, but do not explain what kind of penalties relevant organizations and individuals will face if they violate the regulations. In addition, in the governance process, the synergy of multi-department joint management has yet to be further formed.
A person familiar with the matter said that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has formed a relatively mature mechanism to control harassing phone calls and spam text messages. The technical implementation methods of iMessage and spam text messages are different, and the management objects, methods and mechanisms are different. iMessage is a newly discovered problem in recent years, and relevant departments are studying the next specific measures.
[Viewpoint]
Platforms need to take measures to block spam
Zhao Zhanzhan, deputy director of Beijing Zhilin Law Firm, told reporters that according to telecommunications regulations and Internet information service management measures, the main body of Internet spam management is the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and communications in various places. Authority .
Liang Zhengda, a lawyer at Ningxia Chengtuo Law Firm, also said that the competent authority for Internet spam management is the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and locally it is the Communications Administration Bureau of various places. They have the right to manage Internet operating companies and companies and individuals that publish information on the Internet. . If the information involves obscenity, insult, intimidation, etc., the public security organs will hold the publisher of the information accountable in accordance with the provisions of the "Public Security Punishment Law", "Criminal Law", etc. Those involving finance are under the jurisdiction of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Other categories are governed by the Consumer Rights Protection Law, Advertising Law, Product Quality Law and other regulations, and are under the supervision of the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau.
Liang Zhengda said that for the proliferation of iMessage spam, the responsibilities of Internet platform operators and service providers need to be considered from two aspects. First, whether they knowingly publish spam information; secondly, whether the platform treats companies, individuals or information that enters in accordance with the law. The requirements of laws and regulations have been strictly and carefully reviewed to see if there is any deliberate violation of laws or deliberate publication of spam information for profit. "Judging from the current situation, it is still a technical issue. If Apple does not have mature technology and does not intentionally indulge in spam, it will bear little or no legal liability, but Apple needs to use technical means to block spam as soon as possible."
Liang Zhengda told reporters that the main body that sends spam messages must bear corresponding responsibilities. In this regard, the law also has corresponding provisions. It mainly depends on whether the law enforcement department's evidence collection and investigation are in place. If what is released is pure spam, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires the platform to strengthen supervision and technically eliminate spam. If the subject of pushing information is within the country, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau will punish and manage these enterprises and individuals.
