Four of the UK's largest mobile phone operators have launched a new service to report and prevent spam text messaging to customers.
The GSMA, a collective association of the networks, said in a statement that EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have signed up to the Spam Reporting Service, which will enable mobile phone users to report nuisance text messages by texting SPAM to a special mobile phone number.
This information will then allow operators to analyse the origin and scale of attacks, leading them to the source in order to shut it down.
Consumers previously had to fill out a questionnaire on the ICO website in order to file a complaint about spam messages. This new service means it is reported instantly, and is visible to all networks more quickly.
Working in collaboration with the UK Information Commissioner's Office, mobile providers are already looking into how to expand the service to include nuisance calls.
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"Increasing numbers of consumers are victims of spam and mobile network operators are working hard defending against these threats," said GSMA CEO John Hoffman.
While figures of the amount of spam messaging that currently occurs in the UK are not available, Mr Hoffman is convinced the problem needs addressing.
He said trials showed the complaint data helps operators and authorities in deterring spam.
The information gathered from customers is stored in the Cloud, meaning that it can be accessed in real-time by all the operators, allowing them to quickly shut down spamming attacks and prevent them from spreading to other networks.
