AT&T, Sprint follow Verizon's lead, suspend Jawa SMS codes

Both AT&T (NYSE:T) and Sprint (NYSE:S) have agreed to suspend premium SMS campaign codes associated with Jawa, one of several companies targeted by Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) for alleged subscriber fraud. AT&T said Tuesday it will investigate Jawa for cyberfraud, temporarily shutting down the firm's premium text campaigns in the process: "Because we want to determine as quickly and effectively as possible whether or not the allegations are accurate, we have retained a nationally recognized cyberfraud-expert team to investigate," AT&T said in a statement, adding Jawa has agreed to cooperate with the probe by giving investigators full access to associated data and records.

In a statement of its own, Sprint did not cite Jawa specifically, but said it "suspended a series of premium short codes earlier this month to provide an opportunity for obtaining additional information in light of questions that have emerged."

Earlier this month, Verizon Wireless filed suit against Jawa and 20 limited-liability companies the carrier says are controlled by the text messaging service provider. In the suit, filed with the U.S. District Court of Arizona, Verizon alleges that Jawa CEO Jason Hope and others misappropriated approved short codes for unapproved "shadow" campaigns that failed to comply with the operator's consumer protection and disclosure policies. The sites promised video game tips, recipes and related information without properly disclosing how much the mobile data services would cost, the suit claims.

Verizon contends Jawa blocked certain IP addresses from accessing websites connected to the shadow campaigns or funneled visitors to shell websites, effectively preventing the carrier and its auditors from identifying the sites during the course of its premium SMS monitoring efforts. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed a similar SMS fraud suit against Jawa.

For more:
- read this Arizona Republic article

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