Summary
Spam texts are sent out in mass to unsuspecting users, pretending to be a business or a service, these texts should be reported and blocked. Reporting a spam text to 7726 prompts an investigation by the phone company into that text's content. This could potentially block spam texts for other people as well.
What do spam texts look like?
Spam texts are unwanted messages sent to your phone number. They’re sent in bulk messages, aimed to scam people for money. They will often have a link encouraging the user to click it. This link could contain malware or a form designed to get sensitive data out of a user. Spam texts can claim to be your phone provider giving their monthly bill and telling the user to check it out with a malicious link. Another popular spam text is “something is wrong with _____, click here to fix it now.” Scammers commonly use urgency and play off a user’s financial fears. A way to tell the message is a spam is unprompted contact. A large company would never randomly ask a user for their financial information out of the blue. Spelling errors are a telltale sign that the message is not from the company. Large companies wouldn’t have spelling mistakes in a message intended to get out to their customers.
How to manage them.
Don’t reply to spam messages as this makes the phone number a target for more spam. This flags the number as a real person and to the scammers, a potential money making opportunity. Not clicking on any links protects your money and device. Don’t open any links from phone numbers you don’t know. Don’t disclose personal information through text messages to numbers. Banks don’t ask for financial information over text. If you think a message may be legitimate, contact the company directly rather than replying or clicking a link. This way, the information is coming directly from the company. Blocking the number after a spam text stops that number from sending messages to the user. The issue is scammers have multiple numbers they send from. Blocking one number doesn’t stop other numbers from messaging as well.
To help stop the spread of spam texts, forward the text to 7726 to report it. An investigation will open on the messages content and help them block these messages for other users as well. This is currently the best method to stop spam texts because when one is reported and terminated, other users are kept safe from those texts being sent to them.
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