Spam. No one really likes spam. But then I’m referring to the digital version. Canned spam sounds pretty good to me right now, especially sauteed in a little butter, grilled onions, horseradish..but I digress.
In the States, our cell phones are private. We don’t like telemarketers calling us on our home line. But woe is the day when we actually receive a telemarketing call on our cell.
In China, we daily receive spam calls and texts. Receiving an sms message is free. Often times, I’ll receive a message that is telling me about some sale or how I can buy land. Sometimes, I receive a text that says (in Chinese):
“Dad. I’m in the hospital right now and using a friend’s phone. I need a few extra dollars for the bill. Could you deposit 1000RMB into my friend’s Bank of China account? His account number is 7837-8720-881 and his name is Wang Wei. Thanks, Dad!”
Spam texts are a nuisance. But spam calls are worse in my opinion. Your cell rings once in the middle of the night. You wake up and find you missed a call from a number you don’t know. It looks like any other normal cell phone number. If you call that number back, you’ll be charged 3RMB because it’s a toll number.
So, do you call that number you missed or not? And if you’re a business your really taken advantage of, because you can’t afford not to call potential customers back. Errr…eh?
