There are many ways spammers get hold of your cell phone number so they can send SMS spam and sales texts: The golden rule of any scam, online or otherwise, is that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Is the message relevant to you? For example, if it informs you about a parcel delivery, did you order or were you expecting anything? If it informs you about a prize, did you enter a competition? If it’s about a gift card, is it from somewhere you have previously shopped?.Legitimate organizations rarely make glaring spelling or grammatical errors in customer communications. If a message doesn’t look professional, that’s a red flag that it’s probably a scam. Remember, genuine organizations don’t contact you out of the blue, asking you to disclose personal or financial details via a text message. If it isn’t via a text message, contact them directly to check if it’s legitimate. Think about how an organization usually contacts you.
That said, if you’re wondering how to tell if a message is a scam, there are a few signs to watch out for: Scammers are getting more sophisticated at making scam text messages look authentic and often use identity masking technology to change the name displayed as the caller ID.
Other SMS spam may install malware on your phone, which steals your personal information without you realizing it. The link then takes you to a fake website where, if you log in, the scammers can steal your login credentials. Or you may be asked to click on a link to learn more about the issue. Typically, the messages ask you to disclose some personal information – such as your bank or card details or Social Security number – to claim the gift or pursue the offer.
They can also lead to unwanted charges on your phone bill if your wireless carrier charges you for receiving a text message. These texts can expose you to identity theft and increase the risk of you accidentally downloading malware onto your phone. Worse than that, spam texts and robotexts are often the start of a scam, where the senders are hoping to obtain personal information about you, which they can use for fraudulent purposes. Still, it’s annoying to hear the sound of an incoming text message and to check your phone - only to find it’s spam. Robotexts are a type of spam text, however, they are less invasive than robocalls because they are easier to ignore. It’s a numbers game for spammers – they send messages in bulk, often to randomly chosen or automatically generated numbers, and they only need a few responses to justify their efforts. Because they are sent online, they are cheap and easy for scammers to send. They mainly originate from a computer and are sent to your phone via an email address or instant messaging account. Usually, spam texts are not coming from another phone. Spam refers to messages which are unsolicited and unwanted. This guide explains how you can fight back and reduce the number of spam text messages and phishing texts you receive. Not only are unwanted text messages extremely annoying, but in many cases, they are a scam. Very few of us escape the nuisance of spam texts.