Purchasing a new SIM in South Africa can leave your phone swamped with unsolicited marketing which is annoying and irritating for everyone. Upon SIM activation you will notice a stream of welcome messages and marketing messages directly from your mobile operator.
These messages include how to recharge, buy bundles, check balances, and in most cases, you also get a message with your new number. When you’ve received all the messages and marketing messages from your Mobile Operator, you will then start receiving all these dodgy messages about fund inheritances and airtime competitions which are all fake.
The most targeted are Vodacom users. Mybroadband reckons the cause could be because of the use of the recycled number and used on the new SIM cards. Unsolicited marketing is regulated by the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) and POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act).
According to ISPA, the CPA always determines that consumers may refuse to accept, may request discontinuation of direct marketing, and can also opt to block all direct marketing communicated with them.
All campaigns are required to give a consumer the choice to opt-out. POPIA which can into effect from 1 July 2020 has limitations placed on whether a party can/may engage in direct marketing through the irritating unsolicited marketing.
Consumers are to consent to receive direct marketing through unsolicited communication.
In essence, all communicated marketing with a consumer should be aligned with the legislation in South Africa. You have no cousins abroad who have left you humongous inheritance, it’s just a way of getting to scam you when you least expect it.
