Robotext messages on the rise | What the Tech?

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Every day people get text messages asking about selling their homes, free government money and a mysterious, undelivered package.

We recognize them as spam, but we can’t ignore them.

The FCC hampered spammers’ use of robocalls by requiring cellular companies to block calls from unverified numbers. Earlier this year, the FCC fined a notorious robocall company $300 million.

So many scammers stopped calling and started texting. Not only to avoid being caught, but text messages are a better option to reach us.

You can hang up or ignore a robocall but a robotext is always delivered and almost always read.

There are a few things you can do.

In your phone settings, look for messages and filter unknown senders. You’ll still receive the text but it won’t show up in the list of messages from your contacts.

Here’s what to know about robotext messages:

Don’t click a link or reply with the word “stop”. It only tells the spammer your phone number is working.

If you tap, “Report as junk” on an iPhone, you’re reporting the number to both Apple and your carrier.

You should also report the spam text to the FCC by holding down the message until you see a list of options. Choose “more”, then forward the text to the number 7726, or Spam.

The FCC said it’s going after robo-texters just like it did with robo-callers but it took years before those numbers dropped.

Ultimately, it’s up to us to block and report robotext and spam messages.

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