Earlier tonight I re-stumbled across Great Leader’s warning about fortune telling via text message, and it reminded me of a handy site that can help you figure out who won’t stop texting you even after you’ve told them to.
Those four- or five-digit codes that late-night phone sex providers peddle when you’re trying to just watch an episode of M*A*S*H are called “shortcodes”. They’re txt-msging’s version of 800 numbers, but they’re not so free. Many “providers” take the former AOL route of pretending they didn’t hear you when you cancelled, so you keep getting messages and keep paying. They’re also less transparent about who they actually are, so that’s where this site is handy.
You can contact the owners of the shortcodes directly and thell them to STFU, which you should do, because you’re smart enough not to let them keep this crap up. You read CrunchGear, and you’re informed.
US Common Short Codes Whois Directory [great site]