Spam text messages are more than just an annoying waste of your time. Scammers use them to get your personal information, make you pay extortionate amount of money for replies or calls, or install malware on your device. Don’t fall for such scams. Continue reading to find out what to do to stop spam messages.
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What is spam? Typically spam refers to unsolicted ‘junk’ mail, sent from accounts or websites that can mail thousands out a day. Spam text messages are typically unsolicited messages that contain potentially harmful content. The text will try to use socially engineered techniques to trick you into giving away identifying information that could be used to steal from you. Read on to find out how to stop spam texts.
The act of receiving a spam text message isn’t dangerous, it’s how you respond to the message. If you follow a link or download a file, you’ve played straight into the criminal’s hand. This usually results in the victim accidentally infecting their device with malware.
Some text exchanges can have dangerous content, that’s why you need to know how to stop spam messages. However, you can mitigate that danger by learning to recognize a spam message, and sending it straight to the trash.
Criminals have a number of ways they can target your number for spam text messages. Sometimes, if you’re unlucky, your number will be produced from tech that generates numbers automatically. You might want to check the privacy policies on the accounts you hold, too. You’d be surprised what you may find in the small print, some apps will actively share your data to third parties.
Phishing text scams completely outnumbered spam calls in 2021 — it’s time to make sure you learn how to identify a fake text message. Here are some examples of spam text messages:
Verify your bank account. This message will try to hide as a legitimate bank and ask you to click on a link and provide your banking information. Many other scammers will try to get victims to ‘verify an account’ on a large number of different services, not just banking.
Pending refund. You’ll be told that you have a refund waiting to be placed into your account — all you have to do is provide your account information and it will be sent over.
Fake competitions. You’ve won a cash prize! To claim it, follow this link and download this file! Don’t fall for this easy trick, sometimes situations really are too good to be true.
On iPhone: Go to the text message > click on the Sender ID > click on Info > click on the Sender ID > and tap Block this caller.
On Android: Go to the text message > tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right hand corner > choose Block number.
(Note: these instructions may vary if you use a secure messaging app)
You should also consider reporting spam messages and their senders. Reporting such messages might also prevent further spam from being sent to your phone and might help other people avoid spam. You can do so by:.
While NordVPN won’t be able to block spam messages altogether, it can block malicious sites loading. If you were to try and open a link to a virus-laden website, NordVPN’s threat protection feature will stop it from loading altogether.