Article: OFFSPRING OF SPAM AND TELEMARKETING FIRMS USING PRIZES AND DISCOUNTS TO GET CUSTOMERS TO REQUEST TEXT- MESSAGE ADS

Jessica Yang had just walked out of work when her cellphone beeped. "Rainy day special," the text message read, urging the 26- year-old research analyst to stop by the Paris Creperie in Brookline for a discount on crepes and other items.

"It was like, `Great, I don't have to cook dinner tonight,' " Yang said. She promptly ordered her favorite: ham and egg crepe.

With spam clogging e-mail boxes, telemarketers calling at all hours, and mailboxes stuffed with junk mail, the cellphone has become one of the consumer's last ad-free oases. But not for long. Marketing companies are increasingly targeting the text-messaging feature of cellphones as an effective way to push customers to open their ...

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