Nicola Mawson ponders why we’re seeing a coincidental uptick in spam asking consumers if they are debt-stressed.

I don't know if you have also noticed an uptick in unsolicited offers from vague companies offering you a new line of credit? I have, and these offers generally point out that even blacklisted consumers can apply. I had one just the other day, asking if I was in arrears and struggling with debt.

The generic nature of these messages shows that they are a spray and pray form of spam; if enough of them go out, hopefully they will get a bite.

It’s easy enough to set up a database of cellphone numbers using Excel, and I’m sure there are some fly-by-night bulk SMS companies out there who have no issue sending them out, just like there are in every industry.

This SMS, however, didn’t come from a bulk provider; someone bought an SMS bundle and got to it. Must have taken ages.

I imagine the pay-off is worth it. Especially given the fact that consumers are battling and finding themselves with less money left to spend each month than was the case a year ago.

The latest BankservAfrica Disposable Salary Index shows, as expected, people had less spare cash in December when compared to December 2015. Stripping out inflation to normalise, this is the longest and fastest decline since 2011, the company noted when it put its research out.

That’s going to put a lot of pressure on consumers who are already struggling.

Although the latest stats for under-pressure credit users is woefully out of date, the numbers paint a bleak picture that I suspect will only have worsened as successive interest rate hikes, fuel hikes, electricity hikes and council rate hikes take their toll.

Especially after the festive season - although retailers seem to have had a muted period - and the back-to-school spending required in January.

The National Credit Regulator’s latest figures - admittedly from the second quarter of last year, but that’s what we have to work with - as many as 9.67 million people have impaired credit records. And that’s out of the then 24 million credit active consumers. That’s more than a third of credit active consumers who have a black mark against their name.

Read also: Why am I being spammed?

To my mind, this makes consumers easy targets for spammers offering a way out of debt. Although I suspect many of these offers are from companies that are not registered, and charge interest rates that will soon see your debt escalating, not coming down. And the ones that offer you help if you are blacklisted are acting illegally in terms of the National Credit Act.

Increase in spam

However, another reason for the increase in spam could well be the final implementation, finally, of the Protection of Personal Information Act.

PoPI, as it’s referred to, makes it illegal for people to buy and sell cellphone databases, and for them to send unsolicited communication to someone who isn’t their customer.

It is expected to come into full force in the middle of this year now that there is an Information Regulator.

The law, more than a decade in the making, also means that consumers can have sight of every single bit of information a company has about them.

So, for example, I can go into the bank and demand to know what every one of its different units knows about me.

This is not something that’s easily done if your company is still working with disparate systems and cannot provide a single view.

The law also means there are strict rules about what information a company can collect about you, where and how they store it, and who has access to it.

This, as any lawyer in this space, or IT professional, will tell you, means a large amount of work for any size company. Especially as companies will now have to inform consumers if there is a data breach.

It also means that, hopefully, we’ll see a reduction in spam, because people will be able to complain to the Information Regulator and - if the spam address can be traced (and, under Rica, cell numbers should be registered) - fines can be imposed.

It makes sense then, for enterprising - and I use that word loosely - people to try their luck now. Although, this doesn’t mean that fly-by-nighters won’t carry on. Hopefully, it will be harder for them to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers.

Nicola Mawson is the online editor of Business Report. Follow her on Twitter @NicolaMawson or Business Report @busrep.

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