Recently, smartphone users have been sharing screenshots on social media which displays a strange message, and the most suspicious thing is the messages appear to have been sent in 2003- almost 14 years ago. It all started with Reddit user Nihlus89, when she posted a screenshot of SMS that she received on March 9, 2017. The message was dated September 8, 2003. The other creepy thing is the text contained no message and came from random number 19447527996160170309081216 which looks fake. After Nihlus89 took the incidence to Reddit just to find out that she was not the only one who are facing this type of problems. Almost hundreds of people have reported receiving similar texts from 2003.
— SJ Williams (@SJWilliams95) February 18, 2017 https://twitter.com/cchlce/status/788307921981562880
— grace✨✨ (@graceepearson_) January 26, 2017 As reported by The Next Web, a Redditor came with an acceptable explanation for all this fuss and said that SMS protocol allows for two different ways to receive text messages – Text Mode and Protocol Data Unit (PDU). According to The Next Web, Developer’s Home says “The SMS specification has defined two modes in which a GSM/GPRS modem or mobile phone can operate. They are called SMS text mode and SMS PDU mode. The mode that a GSM/GPRS modem or mobile phone is operating in determines the syntax of some SMS [Text Mode] commands and the format of the responses returned after execution.” As reported by The Next Web, PDU makes it possible to “fake absolutely everything” about an SMS, be it be the text, sender, and details “All it takes to pull this off is a little technical mojo and a GSM modem to send out the the messages.” Therefore, if you are receiving the same kind of messages from the past, then simply delete it or report them to your mobile carrier. So, what do you think about this? Share your views in the comment box below.
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