South Africa

Sexy SMS ordeal for city man

September 26, 2003 Edition -1

Staff Reporter

While most people get one or two text messages a day, a 43-year-old Kenilworth resident is bombarded with 25 to 30 - but all of them sordid and unwanted.

Richard Bryant is harassed daily as there is a one-digit difference between his cellphone number and that of popular chat and dating service LoveSMS.

LoveSMS is hosted by the Worldplay network.

Chief executive officer Gideon Schachat, said the networks allocate the service providers with numbers that can be similar to other user's numbers, and easily accessed with a slip of the finger.

Bryant, who is the wealth manager at Citadel Investments, says: "I get bombarded with calls till three in the morning."

But, Schachat said, networks Vodacom and MTN were joining forces to develop a solution in line with world trends.

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