As a small business owner in Karachi who runs a shoe factory, the often anxious Mr Saif faces numerous pressures on a daily basis. These pressures include dealing with the oft-unreliable factory workers, ensuring a regular supply of raw materials, and maintaining expensive machinery, all in an effort to manufacture products on time.

But there are certain pressures Mr Saif faces which are more frustrating than others, especially because they have little to do with his business, “I get ghalat kind of text messages and calls quite regularly. Most of them demand money and threaten me with dire consequences if I don't comply.”

Mr Saif has changed his cell phone number on numerous occasions over the years due to such unwanted calls. When he contacted the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in Karachi, they advised him to simply ignore the calls as the criminals behind the threats clearly didn’t know anything about him beyond his cell phone number. “They [CPLC] advised me that it was likely that my number had been purchased by these people as part of a package where marketers sell a large collection of businessmen’s [mobile] numbers which they have acquired from God knows where. Due to the vague nature of the threats it seems that mass blackmail text messages are sent by miscreants trying their luck with everyone on their list. Overall, it is very stressful to deal with, but what can you do.”

Mr Saif isn’t alone. Countless businessmen in Pakistan are the victims of such SMS scams, where their lives are threatened by blackmailers who purchase such lists of affluent Pakistanis from marketers. For extortionists, once they have acquired a list of potential targets, they simply forward threatening text messages to everyone in hopes that someone will bite. Unfortunately, many businessmen end up paying the extortionists for fear of reprisal.

Software such as SMS Free Sender and SMS Caster are the weapons of choice for not only these evil criminals, but also SMS marketers in general. Both these software are easy to use, and allow users to send messages directly from the computer. Hidden behind a proxy, these culprits are virtually undetectable, unless lured in by a police sting, which is unlikely, unless their victim has enough political pull to have his/her case stand out from the sea of other victims.

Some of the basic software is free, while the high-end version is extremely cheap considering the returns. The paid version of the software even allows users to check for responses in case their victims have taken the bait, though it is likely that users of such software simply use pirated versions. For scammers on the go, countless apps can be found on the Google Play store, which also allow unlimited texts to be sent out. Worryingly, these smartphone applications are even more powerful than those on the computer, hiding the identity of abusers behind fake international numbers.

Not all users of such software have criminal intent however, and if anything, SMS marketing is a double-edged sword. Many Pakistani NGOs that provide charitable services employ SMS marketers who use such software to appeal for funds for their respective campaigns. Dozens of legitimate hospitals and mental health organisations during the Zakat time period, where fundraising is at an all-time high, gain precious donations through campaigns that take place via text message marketing.

SMS marketing has also come in handy during times of national crisis. After a 7.7 magnitude earthquake tragically shattered the lives of thousands in Balochistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), partnered with Warid Telecom in Pakistan to set up an SMS code for those willing to donate to the victims.

Mr Younas Sheikh, Warid’s Chief Commercial Officer, explained how the SMS marketing campaign would work, “It is essential that we make a collective effort to assist our fellow countrymen in this hour of need. That is exactly what we at Warid are trying to do through this campaign. We will send constant reminders to our subscribers as well as social media users in Pakistan throughout this campaign, to step forward and donate generously for the earthquake victims.”

Of course, SMS marketing campaigns are highly effective because of the potentially endless users. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has published a statistical report which states that by the end of 2013, there were nearly 130 million mobile phone users in Pakistan. It was stated that Mobilink network has the highest number of users, followed closely by Telenor, with Zong Mobile experiencing the highest level of recent growth.

It is also apparent that we as a nation love to exchange text messages. In another published report, it has been stated that between July 2012 and June 2013, nearly 316 billion SMS’ were exchanged in Pakistan. But although this is a significant growth from the same period in the previous year, according to the statistics revealed by PTA, the revenues on text messages generated by telecom companies have actually dropped. One can estimate that this is because of the cutthroat competition between telecom companies in Pakistan, which have resulted in lower prices for SMS packages available to the everyday user.

Although such cheap SMS bundles are beneficial for consumers, it also means that scammers on low budgets can buy such bundles to power their schemes. Most of the victims of these SMS crimes are the average users who receive messages informing them of prizes that may only be utilised if they send a certain amount of money to another number as a registration fee. Some of these criminal groups are so organised that they operate in large teams where each member acts out a role in the scheme, all in an effort to create an air of legitimacy.

The only fault of the victims is that they are gullible, and they should realize that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Initially, scammers used potential prizes as bait, but after users began to catch on, the shady text messages were repacked as contact numbers that carried pictures of attractive women. Once opened on a phone, these contact numbers were programmed to deliver the lonely victim’s phone balance and private information to the scammers.

You will be surprised to learn how much money criminals can earn from such schemes. Tariq, a civil engineer who scammed thousands of Pakistanis through fake websites promising jobs earned 80 million rupees before he was caught. Tariq marketed his websites extensively through mass texts. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reported that they arrested the professional engineer from Tibba Sher Khan Village in Bahawalpur district after having him under surveillance for a reasonable amount of time. For evidence, they managed to secure several mobile SIMs, cell phones and laptops.

Of course, Pakistanis conducting SMS scams aren’t limited to their nation’s borders. In one unconfirmed account, Gulf News reported that Pushan, a 27-year-old Sri Lankan chef in Dubai, lost 16,500 dirham when he was cooked by an SMS scam. The five-star hotel employee had been saving the sizable funds for a wedding, when he received a text message that said, “Dear Sir, Congratulations. You won 2,00,000 AED … money transfer charges of 3,500 AED apply.”

When Pushan spoke to the scammer on the phone, he was convinced to transfer the ”money transfer charges” against the advice of his own family. Later, he was duped into transferring more, when he received a scanned copy of a 200,000 AED check. It was all part of a plan to fool Pushan, of course, “He called me ‘brother’. From his accent, he sounded like a Pakistani man.”

Du, a UAE-based telecom company warned their users strongly after the incident became public, “We urge customers not to share any personal information, including SIM card details, PIN and passport numbers, recharge coupon numbers, credit card details etcetera with unauthorised personnel or on public computer networks."

A few years earlier, Gulf News had reported that a Pakistani gang in Dubai had been busted for running a profitable SMS scam. The Sharjah police had noted that the gang comprised of five Pakistani nationals who had scored a total of 300,000 dirhams in only two months. The police also revealed that the gang was led by a 33-year-old male who had specialised in recruiting men from Pakistan and Bangladesh on visit visas to run his scam, which fooled its victims into believing they had won huge prizes.

Here in Pakistan, telecom companies have begun running public awareness campaigns to protect their interests against mobile phone fraud. The databases of our telecom providers already contain personal user information such as National Identity Card (NIC) numbers and full names, and naturally the representatives of these companies wouldn’t call to ask for such information during a prize promotion.

Meanwhile, PTA has started issuing public awareness notices to ensure safety for Pakistanis against spamming, marketing, unsolicited calls and SMS’. Aside from educating the public, PTA states that it is fully committed to safeguarding the interests of telecom users in the country, and warns that it reserves the right to initiate legal proceedings against culprits through the Pakistan Telecommunication Reorganization Act of 1996.

If you receive a suspicious text message, PTA says that you should forward it through an SMS to the special complaint number 9000, where it will be investigated by the authorities.