Chinese bombed by 300b spam SMS in 2013

Chinese mobile users received over 300 billion pieces of SMS spam last year, based on analysis of 270 million complaints, the People's Daily reported on Saturday.

Sales promotions accounted for 65 percent of the total, while real estate advertisements took up 15 percent. Beijing mobile users received an average of 2.22 junk messages each day.

The messages are sent via fake base stations - unlicensed telecommunication installations that allow criminals to send spam to nearby mobile users with fake phone numbers or disguised as communications from government departments, telecoms operators or banks.

The report said a campaign against spam at the end of last year, reduced such messages by over 50 percent in November and December.