How can I help if a student receives unsolicited texts on their mobile?
Mobile numbers can get into the wrong hands - a friend might have passed your student's number on to someone else without their knowledge or someone might have made up a random number and it turns out to be theirs - which could result in unsolicited text messages.
If the texts are of a bullying or threatening nature, you can find lots of useful information in the cyberbullying section of this website.
Some of your students might have Bluetooth technology on their mobiles, which enables communication between electronic devices over short distances. That means that anyone in their vicinity with a Bluetooth device can send them a message, whether they want them to or not. This is called Bluejacking.
Of even greater concern is Bluesnarfing, where another Bluetooth user can access your student's mobile device and steal things like their contact list, emails and texts, and even photos and videos.
To minimise the risk of this happening, you should recommend that they switch their Bluetooth off or set it to refuse connections from strangers.
Just as your students might receive "spam” emails, they might also receive spam calls or texts from companies trying to sell them something. Sometimes, replying to these calls or texts, or following a Web link, leads to a premium rate service that they will have to pay for.
Fortunately, your students can take action against unsolicited marketing messages by texting STOP to the sender's number. By law, the sender has to stop sending messages and, if they don't, they can report them to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Your students can also register their number with the Telephone Preference Service and should speak to their mobile network provider (or ask a parent to) as they might offer a service to help stop spam.
Where can I find out more?