Cell phone spam is on the rise with one prediction being that wireless customers are going to receive one and a half billion unsolicited text messages this year (double what the rate was for 2006). Wireless companies have been accused of supporting phone spam because they make a profit off of those people without text message plans who receive these messages. However, the companies respond that they are opposed to cell phone spam because it makes their customers irate. It’s also because they want to exploit the opportunity for cell phone marketing in the future and don’t want customers completely turned off to the idea of cell phone spam.

As a result, wireless companies are implementing actions to protect customers from cell phone spam. Sprint has a filter in place to catch spam before it gets to your phone; reportedly two thirds of all text messages sent on the network are identified as spam and blocked. Verizon uses a combination of blocking mass spammers and filing lawsuits about the issue to protect its customers. And AT&T notes that all three major wireless companies have agreed to share information about text spammers to make solving the problem more efficient.