Now, the good news: You can take steps to receive fewer spam texts, and if you do fall for one, there are ways to pump the breaks before scammers further mess with your accounts, devices or wallet.
Plagued by spam texts: I have an iPhone and get unwanted solicitations by texts. How can I block them?
Gail de la Fuente — San Diego, California
Gail, you aren’t alone. Other readers have written in with concerns about scammy and spammy texts.
Like you describe, some spam texts are obvious solicitation, asking if you want to buy something or sign up for a service. Others are more insidious. Our readers say they’re bombarded with romance scams, fake updates from Amazon and phony communications from banks.
When trying to tell the difference between legitimate texts and spam, Porter says she has an unlikely mantra: “Scammers are people too.”
Scammers read the news, use online services and put their pants on one leg at a time, she said. They tailor their scams based on current events — think of the spike in covid vaccine-related scams this past year. They also know how to manipulate you by making you feel sad, scared or embarrassed.
Here are some red flags that a text message is from a scammer:
It’s out of the blue: Your bank and other legitimate businesses generally won’t use texts as their primary form of communication. If your “bank” texts you asking for some action on your part, check for an…
