Tuesday’s Technology Post in the SCMP highlighted the problem faced by many Hong Kong people these days : mobile spam.
Recorded sales messages – delivered at high speed through annoyingly high-pitched monologues – are now a mainstay of using a mobile phone in Hong Kong.
Answered in Hong Kong, these unsolicited calls may be little more than a rude interruption. Answering overseas, however, involves expensive roaming charges.
My last roaming bill from three days in Singapore/Malaysia was some $1600 – part of that thanks to sales calls I received during my trip. Telephone spam is becoming an increasing problem in Hong Kong, in a city that lacks legislation banning such cold calling to mobile telephones (many countries have laws against this). I easily receive at least four spam calls a week to my cell phone – usually a combination of both automated and human calls. Unfortunately, most have their caller ID’s blocked – now leaving me weary about answering unidentified calls. One such call was from Wharf Telecom (no caller ID) – they were advertising a service to “unblock all caller ID’s”. Oh the irony! But they don’t win my custom ; congratulations, they’ve now made my blacklist.
Sadly, most people in Hong Kong lack education of the fundamental moral principals of privacy and would fail to see the ethical problems of employing such tactics in the workplace. Education is definitely the key – business owners need to be convinced that there are better ways of marketing their products, and that treating your customers well is the prelude to a good long term relationship. Unfortunately, some Hong Kongers still have the “earn more now ; who cares if we see them again” mentality.
It’s good that the government is finalising an anti-spam bill – albeit not to be tabulated to Legco till 2006. Although it currently excludes voice spamming, this will hopefully be included in the legislation too. Nonetheless, such legislation has been long awaited – all I can hope is that punishments are severe. Nine years would satisfy me… per word.
