Text Message Spam

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I got a text message today, and I don't normally read them, since they're so expensive for me, but I didn't know who it was, and curiosity got to me. I don't give my number out to anyone except people I know, so I figured it had to be someone... and it was an email address. It was a spam message. I get really irked because a lot of people have to pay to read text messages, and with some carriers (such as Verizon) you can send text messages to Verizon customers through the website for free. That means you can spam someone for free, but they have to pay to receive spam. Does that sound fair? It sounds like whoever started doing it was really smart... I knew someone a while back who had received some spam on their phone. When they called customer service, the customer service representative didn't even completely understand 'text messaging'. He assumed that this person had instant messaging on their phone and that they just had a friend harassing them and he did not understand that they wanted text messaging completely blocked from their phone. When he finally understood what was meant, he said it would cost more to get it blocked than to have it. That's like saying you can have a computer but you have to pay to not have email, isn't it? My biggest question is how these people got my number. I understand that just because I don't remember giving it out doesn't mean it didn't get out, but it's just odd to me.