How do we block SMS spam and robocalling based on Whois info?: It’s out of control

Something has to be done.

Robocalling, SMS spam and email spam to contacts collected from newly-registered domain names are out of control. Simply out of control.

I registered a domain name the prior week using a Google Voice number so I could track the marketing. I received two SMS messages from people pitching logo design and video production within 24 hours. One around midnight. I also received a phone call from someone offering to create a website on my fresh domain name.

I blame nefarious peddlers who are making it easier and cheaper than ever to obtain Whois information.

But regardless of blame, I hope that registrars can come together to take out the revenue side of this equation. It might be a game of Whack-a-Mole, but can we give it a shot?

Each SMS or spam message leads to a website. If these websites are suspended then the marketers have to switch domain names to keep the revenue flowing.

This morning I received an SMS message promoting video production at OctaVideos.com. The domain is registered at PublicDomainRegistry (part of Endurance International Group) and hosted at LiquidWeb.

Based on this whois record, I don’t know how it passed verification checks:

Another one I received links to 29DesignX.com. That domain uses eNom’s whois privacy. Another…LogoRadical.com is registered at GoDaddy using its Whois privacy service.

I realize false complaints could be an issue, but something has to be done regarding this.

Or maybe a registrar can file a false advertising suit. Consider this claim made by “Frank” at OctaVideos when I chatted with him this morning:

One other solution: Registrars can offer free “phone number privacy” to clients. They would just make the phone numbers go to a voicemail system. Email spam is easy to handle. Robocalls and SMS are not.

Oh, and Apple: please create an app to block this crap, or at least let third parties offer apps for it.