How to avoid Spam texts – Guide
More text messages from “AT&T” may have appeared, relating to a bill payment, refund or free benefit. Accounts will be blocked, according to communications from “Chase”. An incomplete delivery is indicated with a “FedEx” notice. Messages can look genuine, especially if you have a company service that appears to be sending you messages. However, there are some warning signs you should look out for before clicking the link to get a “reward” for paying your bill. Scammers are using trusted company names, links and urgency in the latest plan to steal your information after clicking a link in a text message, which can result in identity theft and fraud. Even though cell phone operators have come up with a plan to stop automatic calls, messages should continue. This plan does not include the workaround for spammers to send texts. According to Robkiller’s August study, we can get up to 86 billion spam SMS. It’s scary to think of accidentally clicking the link or not paying attention to the text. We’ll explain what you can do now to help keep your personal information safe, as well as what to check if you receive a spam SMS.
First, never open the link.
Scammers are tricky. They will send messages that appear to be from a legitimate company, such as your wireless operator, bank, or medical facility, and will include a link asking you to verify your account information. The link takes you to a website that may look real but is actually fake. The purpose is to collect your username, password and other personal information for future use. If you receive an unexpected message that includes a link, do not open it. If you happen to open it, don’t enter your account details or personal information. Check out this fake Verizon website that was being used in phishing attempts, as discussed by How To Geek. The site looks real and even redirects to the official Verizon website after the nefarious actors stripped his account credentials. Scary things.
Search before responding with STOP
A common method of opting out of receiving non-harmful spam messages (like that restaurant offering free milkshake) is to respond to the message with “STOP”. It can be a quick and easy way to end messages from everything from a political campaign to your Internet service provider. But scammers use this same tool to trick you to respond to their messages, in turn, letting them know that your phone number is valid and can be directed with more messages or automatic calls. Instead of quickly responding STOP to an unsolicited message, take a few seconds to look through up the online number to see if a recognized organization or business uses it for text messages. I checked the Comcast number, for example, searching for “text from 266278” after receiving a message a few weeks ago asking if I wanted updates about an outage in my area. In fact, the number I got the message from matches various Comcast listings on their support page. If you verify that a number is valid, answer STOP to remove yourself from the distribution list.
Report a bad message to your service provider
If you can’t verify who sent a message, or if it’s clearly a scam, you can forward the message to 7726 (means “spam” on a phonekeyboard). AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon accepts spam reports through this number. You may receive a following up message after reporting a message, asking for more information or to confirm the number where the original message was sent. Some carriers, like Sprint, even block the number of messages for you after you report it.
Use your phone integrated lock tool
Another option is to block the number yourself. Both iOS and Android have built-in tools to block messages and calls from specific numbers.
iPhone users
On an iPhone, open the message in the Messaging app and tap the profile photo at the top, then tap Info button. On the next screen, tap the phone number, followed by Block this caller at the bottom of the next screen. Following these steps will block the number of messages and calls for you. iOS users can also filter out unknown senders to automatically sort unknown numbers by toggling Filter out unknown senders in the Messaging settings.
Android users
As is usually the case with Android phones, the process for blocking a number will vary depending on who makes yours. phone and which messaging app you are using. If you’re using the Google Messages app, start by opening the spam message, then tap in the menu button in the upper right corner and selecting Details from the dropdown list. On the next screen, select Block and report spam followed by OK. The Messaging app will send the previous number and 10 messages to Google for analysis to improve future spam detection. Your responses to the number are not sent to Google. If you’d rather just block the number, uncheck the box next to “Report spam” before tapping OK. Samsung Messaging users will need to open the conversation, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select Block number > Block.
Download an app to block spam messages
There are some apps that can limit spam text messages. TextKiller is an application developed by Robokiller to automatically filter messages that would be considered spam using Smart Block. The app now also works with Apple Watches to help filter spam messages. You can also add phone numbers and keywords you want to block.
File an FCC complaint to help prevent spam texts
If you want to help combat current and future spam messages and are in the US, you can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission whenever you receive a message that falls into one of these three categories: Please visit this site to file a complaint with the FCC. It will not immediately prevent messages from reaching your phone, but at least it will help the FCC track down evildoers. Just as you don’t have to deal with spam messages, you also don’t have to deal with automated calls. You won’t be able to finish them off forever, but you can at least reduce the number of times your phone rings. And remember that there are many warning signs when it comes to coronavirus scams, so make sure you know them all. While you’re at it, take a few minutes to secure your wireless account to prevent SIM switch fraud.
Final note
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