Have you been receiving spam text messages? Here are some tips to combat them courtesy of The New York Times.
- Report the spam to your carrier free of charge by copying the text and sending it to SPAM (7726). This service is available for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon customers.
- Download spam-blocking apps for your Android device such as Mr. Number, Call Blocker, Anti-SMS Spam, and SMS Filter.
- AT&T members can pay $4.99 per month to subscribe to the Smart Limits for Wireless program which helps customers selectively control text messages. Customers can block up to 30 numbers and designate how many text messages can be sent.
- Sprint customers have many options when it comes to blocking text spam. By texting commands to 9999, they can block all messages from specific email addresses, senders who use numeric short codes, and particular internet domains.
- For T-Mobile users, all text messages can be blocked at no charge, but they cannot block texts from specific senders except for spammers who use PCs to send the messages.
- Verizon members can use the company’s Spam Controls tools found on its website to block unwanted messages. Up to 15 e-mail addresses and internet domains can be blocked. Keep in mind that after 90 these will be unblocked, but can be reinstated.
To read the full list of tips, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/technology/personaltech/fighting-back-against-spam-texts.html?_r=2.
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Curious. I thought the whole SMS set up was that you had to opt in to receive the texts. Are companies really so stupid as to send text messages to people who have not opted in? How is this even happening? I never get a commercial text unless I opted in to receive, etc.
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Many times, these types of text messages are coming from spammers, not reputable businesses. Spammers have a tendency to get a hold of lists of phone numbers. Almost all legitimate businesses will allow consumers to opt-in before sending them text messages.
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actually more accurate info is a legitimate business, for example a loan company, gets leads from spammers that illegitimately spam the product or service
there is no point in spamming if it’s fake or a scam, where would the money come from unless it’s phishing to get the user to send money, which is not gonna happen obviously
some spam even has an opt-out to take the number off the list, but of course there are various spammers out there so you just opted out of a single list
now those bullet points of what the carriers offer, what kind of joke is that, & they have the nerve to charge you!? just make a free option to have a whitelist or block messages that contain a url… looks like the carriers want your money/value just like everyone else in the spam chain (btw they dont do much to block the source messages themselves as they rake in money from the constant reactivations of spammer phones/accounts)
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Spammer is sending message to any phone now from third parties, where you will not see the phone numbers but the message to click here to see pics of your friend or something that can be catchy enough to click the link. Many people fall into that. When they click on that link, that is when they can get to your system and steal all the information. In the message they say, to stop type so and so number, but do not do that, if you type that number they know you are real and you number is working number. Just call the carrier, they will stop it for you. I have had that issue recently. Tech is becoming curse now ..
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That’s a nice summary of the article, which felt like old news. But it’s good to keep getting the word out. One reprieve the article failed to mention was by venting, which can be pretty effective when you have little control over a situation. And for that reason http://www.canthespam.org exists for your sounding board pleasure.
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Good article!
One place many spammers end up getting a text phone number from is from “authenticating” your identity or signing you up for a text number list somehow.
Unless it’s someone credible like google or facebook or a company you know and interact with, it’s best to avoid signing up for anything that involves having a text message sent to you.
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What to do if the spammer was asked to stop sending those texts and is still doing it? My problem is that I just signup for a wireless service and started getting messages from a company I never had business with nor I opted in for communications from. I understand that my present phone number belonged to someone else once, so I called the number stated in text message to remove me from their list – i thought that was enough for me to do, but I keep getting those messages and from about 6 different local numbers ( I know it’s still the same business because of the contents of messages ). I contacted them few more times as nothing was done, I texted STOP, I added those numbers to my block list. I still want to get messages from my contacts, so I don’t want to use my phone carrier option to quit messages altogether.
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Call or contact your state attorney general and the feds–we need to get a groundswell going like with unwanted faxes–all are illegal and can be sued for $500 a transmission
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The very first thing to do is NOT respond to the text! This verifies to the spammer that you are an actual number. They don’t know when they send out the spam (via computor, NOT from a phone) that the number is actually good.
It costs them nothing to send spam. However, if you respond, you have opened up the “Phishing Hole” to them. They will try to infect your phone with a virus or malware if you have a smartphone- android or apple- and if not, they will try to get you to release some more info about yourself. Almost all text spam involves phishing or malware/virus attempts!
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