Woman Sues Burger King for $5M Over Text Messages

A New York woman is suing Burger King for $5 million over spam text messages sent to her phone prodding her to try a new burger or coffee drink at the fast food giant.

Miami New Times reported that Elizabeth Espinal was repeatedly sent text messages from Burger King, even though she told them to stop. In the lawsuit she contends that Burger King "caused actual harm" by harassing her with the "cryptic" messages. Espinal also said she was "subjected to aggravation" and made to pay for receiving the texts.

"Kick it up a notch with a loaded steakhouse burger," one of the text messages read. "Try one today at BK."

Another said "Stop by BK for a refreshing Mocha BK Joe Iced Coffee. A perfect mix of rich coffee and chocolate syrup."

Espinal filed the lawsuit in April 2009 under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, "which prohibits unsolicited voice and text calls to cellular phones," according to New Times . The case was filed as a class action suit and is still open.

Tech blog Switched suggests signing up for a do-not-call list or contacting your service provider to block the number to avoid spam texts. The site also suggests refraining from giving fast-food chains your cell number.

To fight spam text messaging South Korea authorities last month halved the daily limit on text messages sent by mobile phones from 1,000 texts a day to 500, reported AFP .