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Spam texts are rampant in our modern digital environment, and they show no signs of slowing down. It’s estimated that one million spam texts are sent every minute, and scammers used spam texting to steal $15 billion in 2023 alone.
To protect yourself against spam texting, you’ll need to know how to identify, avoid, and report it. This article will cover identifying suspicious messages, highlighting different reporting methods, and explaining how to block senders. It is every user’s complete guide to overcoming spam.
What Do Spam Texts Look Like?
Spam texts come in many different varieties. In general, however, spam texts are any unsolicited, unwanted messages sent to your phone. They could be as simple as a business advertising their next sale, but usually, they have much more dubious intentions.
Generally, malicious actors will send spam messages with the purpose of acquiring sensitive information from the recipient. Some kinds of personal data they’re after include:
- Social security numbers
- Account numbers
- Passwords
Once they have this information, they’ll use it to either scam or steal from their victims. Oftentimes, they’ll obtain personal details by getting unsuspecting recipients to click malicious links promising:
- That they’ve won a prize, gift card, or coupon
- To issue them a low or no-interest credit card
- To help them pay off their student loans
Obviously, there are no prizes, credit cards, or payment assistance for victims lured onto these pages—only the potential for fraud, scams, and identity theft. Unfortunately, these aren’t the only ways scammers will try to get your personal data, either. They’re also known to craft convincing fake messages claiming:
- They’ve noticed suspicious activity on one of your accounts
- There’s a problem with the payment information you used to make a recent transaction
- You owe them money (complete with a fake invoice) and to contact them if you didn't authorize the purchase
- You’ve got a delivery
With these techniques, scammers hope you’ll willingly offer up key personal information that they can later use to scam you or gain access to your accounts. Since spam scammers are so cunning, manipulative, and widespread, it’s imperative that you report them every time you receive a suspicious message.
Step-by-Step: How to Report Spam Texts
Thankfully, there’s an effective way to fight back against spam scammers: by reporting them. Below, we’ll detail how to report spam texts along with helpful places to turn to when you suspect you’ve been targeted for malicious texting.
Always Opt-Out First
First things first, always try to reply to any unwanted message you receive with the words STOP, END, QUIT, or CANCEL. These words are required by the mobile carriers to opt you out of any messages from that number. Additionally, this will provide feedback to the messaging provider about potential spam.
Reporting Through Your Messaging App
To report a spam message in your messaging app, head to the conversation and look for the dropdown menu (usually signified by three vertical dots). Tap it, then navigate to the option Block & Report Spam.
After tapping this selection, confirm that you truly want to block the sender and report their messages as spam. Afterward, not only will the relevant authorities be contacted about the spammer, but your phone will block you from receiving any further scam attempts from them.
Using Third-Party Apps for Enhanced Protection
To take your protection to the next level, you can install a third-party app that specifically identifies and blocks spammers. Such platforms generally log known spammers in a database and then block them from contacting you or give you a warning when they send you a message. Some apps even have features that automatically respond to and mislead scammers—wasting their time and throwing them off the trail of your data.
Some popular apps to enhance your protection against spam scammers include:
Contacting Your Mobile Carrier
You can also report spam messages directly to your mobile service provider. They’ll deal with the complaint and take the appropriate steps to trace and block the potential scammer.
No matter who your carrier is, anyone in America can easily report spam messages by copying the text and sending it to 7726 (SPAM). Reporting spam helps your provider prevent future scamming attempts against you and other customers.
Reporting Spam to the FTC
There’s another pertinent authority to report spam text messages to: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC enforces the leading piece of legislation governing malicious telephone usage—the CAN-SPAM Act—so it takes spam messages extremely seriously.
FTC reporting can help combat text scammers in general. To report spam to the FTC, visit ReportFraud.ftc.gov and follow the steps listed there.
Preventing Spam Texts: Tips and Tricks
Instead of reactively reporting spam messages when you receive them, it’s best to be proactive and prevent them from ever reaching you in the first place. Follow these tips to minimize the malicious texts reaching you and protect yourself against potential scams.
Privacy Practices
Be judicious when giving out your phone number and other personal information—especially online. Many companies that ask for contact details will then share or sell them to other, malicious parties who in turn use them to send spam and commit fraud.
Some businesses may entice you to give away your phone number with a deal or discount, but be wary as that small offer may cost you your peace and privacy down the road. Before entering your information on any website, research it to ensure your data will be safeguarded rather than sold. Likewise, if the page has a Do not sell my data checkbox, click it immediately to keep your information private.
Managing App Permissions
Like many websites, some third-party applications collect and catalog your data to sell to malicious parties. Most apps need basic permissions to function. Video conferencing apps, for instance, require camera access to work properly. Beyond these essential permissions, however, apps shouldn’t need access to other parts of your device.
Before installing any new app, research it first and see if its users have any privacy concerns. After installation, when you’re prompted to allow certain permissions, evaluate whether they’re necessary to fulfill the app’s purpose and deny them if they’re not. Likewise, it’s also helpful to audit the apps you already have installed and remove any unnecessary permissions they have enabled.
The less of your phone third parties can access, the safer your information. Scrutinize everything you install and avoid apps that won’t let you continue without allowing unnecessary permissions.
Crucial Dos and Don'ts When Dealing with Spam Texts
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to avoiding and reporting spam messages. To summarize and simplify the process, we’ve broken it down into some essential dos and don'ts. To protect yourself against spam messages, you should:
- Learn to identify and ignore potential text scams
- Be careful when giving out your number
- Report and block any spammers who try to contact you
- Deny unnecessary permissions when installing new apps
On the other hand, some key things you should avoid to keep yourself safe from spam include:
- Replying to spammers
- Clicking links in messages
- Trying to locate or identify the spammer personally
- Giving away your phone number unnecessarily
- Opening spam messages altogether, if possible
If you follow these steps, you should be able to protect yourself from spam messages and the scammers who send them.
Protect Yourself Against Spam Texts with Mozeo
Safeguarding your data is essential to securing your banking, social security, and personal information. Spam scammers will try to trick you into sending them personal details, but with your phone's ability to report and block contacts, third-party spam-stopping apps, and careful online browsing habits, you can prevent their attempts.
You can also lean on Mozeo to protect yourself against unwanted spam. Mozeo offers essential advice on how to avoid and report spam, and other mobile topics—such as legal compliance for businesses that utilize texting and how to report spam messages.
Explore Mozeo to learn more, and sign up for a free trial!
