( CNN ) -- Unsolicited text messages from scammers , companies and political campaigns are illegal and annoying . But at least now they 're easier to report . Recently all of the major North American wireless carriers have deployed a centralized spam-reporting service backed by GSMA , a global association of wireless carriers . This service collects information about spam complaints from all participating carriers into a common database , which may make it easier for carriers to identify spammers and take action against them . According to GSMA , one feature of the new spam-reporting service is that it generates a data feed of spam reports that carriers can integrate into their network security measures . It may be hard to tell whether this new system does any good . But it probably ca n't hurt . I just tested it . Here 's how it works : . When you receive a spam text message on your phone , forward that text to the shortcode 7726 ( which spells `` SPAM '' ) . You 'll then receive an automated message from your wireless carrier , asking you then to enter the phone number from which the spam text was sent . I first reported as spam a text message I received from the Mitt Romney presidential campaign . ( To be clear , the Romney campaign did not spam me . I voluntarily signed up to receive its text updates . However , I had to test this spam reporting service with somebody 's text message , and I doubt that one spam report would do Romney much harm . ) The Romney campaign sends texts from a common shortcode ( a short telephone number that 's leased by the U.S. government for texting programs -- a use that is highly regulated ) . So when I responded to Verizon with the sender 's phone number , I received a response that said : `` It is likely that your message came from a shortcode . Please return to the original message and reply STOP . '' OK , this might sound like the new spam reporting service did n't really do anything -- but actually it probably did the right thing . In the United States , any texting campaign that uses a shortcode has to obey strict rules . One of those rules is that if you reply `` stop '' to any message that came from a shortcode , it has to stop sending you messages . Many mobile users do n't know this , so this is a good reminder first to try to unsubscribe . And also , it verifies that my test did n't do Romney 's campaign any harm . But many text-spam messages are sent from regular phone numbers , not shortcodes , precisely because shortcode use is so tightly monitored and regulated . Organizations that disobey U.S. shortcode rules can find their shortcode lease revoked , or their messages blocked by carriers . Next I tested the spam-reporting service by forwarding to it a spam text I had received from an ordinary phone number . It claimed to be offering a Walmart gift card , but that was most likely a ruse . After I got Verizon 's acknowledgment of my spam report and sent it the full 10-digit phone number of the spam sender , the system responded : `` Thank you , we appreciate your assistance . '' It also offered Verizon 's instructions for blocking text messages from a specific number . This spam reporting service apparently does n't tell you whether any action was taken against the spammer you reported . So it 's a little unsatisfying in that regard . Also , this service is new , so it 's unclear so far what kind of difference it might make in the fight against spam texts . However , forwarding spam texts to an easy-to-remember shortcode is a simple thing to do . So it might be a good idea to try using this service to report any spam texts that you receive . Let 's hope it helps . The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran .
North American wireless carriers have deployed a new spam-reporting service . Service generates a data feed of spam reports that carriers can integrate into security . Organizations that disobey shortcode rules can find their shortcode lease revoked . The service does n't tell you if any action was taken against the spammer you reported .