Spam Text Messages: How to Stop Them

We are sure you are already mindful of the term ‘Spam,’ but do you know what it means? Considering that this nuisance affects us all, we need to know more about it. Today we were hoping you could learn what Spam is, what types of Spam exist, how we can detect them, and how to avoid receiving spam text messages, junk emails, or annoying commercial phone calls.

Currently, both on the Internet and other social communication platforms, we receive a lot of junk information daily, and most of us do not know the senders. Therefore, we must learn to filter and put aside what we have not previously requested, that is, the annoying Spam texts.

All the unsolicited communications that fall under Spam demand that we discuss them and attempt to get rid of spam for good. Let’s start with its definition and then see how to identify and prevent spam harassment by mail, phone, and text messages.

Spam, also known as junk messages or texts, is unsolicited by the recipient and sent massively across the Internet or other personal/social communication channels. Usually, Spam messages come from an unknown or anonymous sender with ridiculous sales or marketing pitches.

In addition, these are generally sent by the person or a company massively, which tends to bother everyone who receives it. Although this means of communication is not the only one used for these purposes, there is also Spam by telephone calls or instant messaging, among other formats.

The Origin of The Term “Spam”

The word originates from the Second World War, specifically in 1937, when the soldiers’ relatives sent them canned pork food, called “SPAM,” or Special Processed American Meat. It became very well known among the combatants since it would allow them not to invest too much time in their lunch break while defending their border fronts.

What Types of Spam Are There?

Once you know what Spam is and a little about its true origin, it is time to review what types of Spam are. We will also discuss which ones affect you the most.

And although currently, the most widespread form of Spam is the one we usually receive on our mobile phones. But many companies send in bulk, this is not the only one:

1) Mobile Spam (SMS)

Mobile Spam or Spam SMS is the most prevalent and perhaps the most annoying form of Spam we encounter daily. Through traditional text messages, Spammers tend to spread their offers and discounts.

We, as consumers, connect to many companies and give our data to them willingly; perhaps we also consent through the ‘small print’ that they provide our data to one of their partners or other marketers.

In this way, these companies massively launch their notifications through an SMS and a Call to Action (CTA), where we get an invitation to find out more information. However, we face hecticness as we don’t specifically remember saying yes to receiving such Spam messages and we may also become victim of various mobile scams.

2) Email Spam

It’s a primary type of Spam; sometimes, Email Spam fills our folders and inboxes, making us pretty mad. Although luckily, there are professional email platforms that have their filters, and they segment the incoming messages, which they understand will not interest us or are excessively misleading.

Different email platforms filter junk emails according to their specific algorithm, which varies from one another.

3) Messenger Spam

It is similar to the Spam SMS that we explained earlier. Still, it comes through multimedia messages, including videos, gifs, chat, or instant messaging programs, with many irritating emojis. Messenger spam gets spam content on various social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram Messenger, Telegram, WhatsApp, Skype, etc.

In practice, it is a mass mailing to users of these applications who meet specific standard requirements or demographics and advertising purposes.

4) Telephone Spam

It is common to receive a message from the insurance company, or the telephone company may call you, and you are not (and have never been) a member or registered with that company.

The dynamic is practically the same as that of SMS Spam: in the past, you consented to give up your contact details to friendly companies that you were subscribing to, and they have you in their database.

5) Spam On Social Networks

Through fake accounts on social networks (for example, creating Facebook pages or Twitter profiles with random photos), Spammers take the opportunity to send again their offer or product offers that are not in line with the likes and hobbies of the recipient.

6) Link Spam

It is behavior as leaving irrelevant comments without rhyme or reason on other websites or blogs, with the sole purpose of precisely getting a link to their online client’s website or page.

Perceptibly, commenting on other blogs is not a bad practice (quite the opposite). Still, it would be a Spammer practice to do it compulsively, straining links and adding keywords such as keywords in the ‘Name’ field of the person or post anchor text for their connection.

7) Web Content Spam

There is also a type of Spam that affects content Marketing. They try to position a website somewhat faster than expected; some articles have lots of keywords placed in an unnatural way (Keyword Stuffing). Along with the spinning of content, Google considers it a harmful practice.

Although you read these contents, there may be occasions when they make verbal sense. They do not usually have the thematic quality of professional writers who provide value in the range.

What Are Spam Texts?

As texting has become more affordable for recipients and has spread as a form of communication, many companies have turned to text to achieve their marketing goals.

However, this has also seen complaints from consumers across the world. Claiming they have been the recipients of a spam text message. It can be intrusive and even expensive, especially for those who claim they never opted to receive such texts in the first place.

When receiving a spam message, one essential thing is that it may be illegal. It is unlawful to send unsolicited messages to wireless devices unless the recipient first obtains permission.

It is unethical for someone to send unsolicited text messages using equipment known as an automatic dialer that stores and quickly dials phone numbers using a serial or random generator. Personal and transactional messages are not in these rules on unsolicited text messages.

Telecommunications Service

Some consumer advocates have argued that texting should be under a telecommunications service. Currently, phone calls come under a telecommunications amenity, which means that carriers have a limited ability to block automated and malicious calls, which explains why some phone calls are repetitive today.

Texting doesn’t fall under a telecommunications service; many people look for options to block these activities independently. The government has received more and more complaints that text messages can be treated differently from calls, although text messages can also be unwanted and frustrating.

Automated Control Systems

A growing number of people claim to have been the victims of spam text messages. Automated monitoring systems have emerged that flag content as suspicious and first send it to an analysis team for review as possible fraud.

If any form of fraud or Spam gets in the notice, this automated surveillance service, which consumers can sign up for, can block texts before they reach them.

Response to Stop

One way for customers who have received massive amounts of spam text messages or are annoyed by unsolicited textual content is to respond with all capital letters STOP. A business should automatically discontinue text messages upon receiving a STOP response.

However, some customers claim that an automatic dialler company may bypass this rule and call the same recipient again.

Some Examples of Spam Text Messages

You probably entered this article looking for a way to recognize when a message, email, SMS, or call is significant and when it is not. However, you will agree that it was necessary to know what types exist to analyze what means we would be hypothetically receiving this.

Although the indications can be as many as messages we receive daily, specific patterns tend to repeat themselves, be very careful!

1. Commercial Offers or Exaggerated Discounts

Even today, it is widespread to receive messages or calls offering us super offers or massive discounts on products that we do not order. Who has not received an untimely call from a telephone company offering you an excellent plan to change companies or to improve your services? A very exhausting practice.

2. Prizes And Draws You Have Won (Without Participating)

We are sure that you have received an SMS full of exclamation points and striking emoticons on some occasions. They might tell you that you’ve been selected among thousands (or millions) of people to enjoy a free vacation in the Caribbean or similar places.

These awards are usually of the ‘call to click’ type, as in Marketing, consisting of very fashionable or hot products, such as smartphones and state-of-the-art electronic equipment in general.

The link to these promotions usually leads you to a conversion funnel to buy other products or provide your data to the company. It is also responsible for sending this information to its partners as they continue to send you all kinds of ads about low-quality products.

3. Offering Inappropriate Products or Services

Suppose right off the bat you receive an SMS where an alleged company or person offers you inappropriate services or even products of this type (without your prior request for info). In that case, we can realize that it is a Spam activity.

And the thing is, massive advertisements related to inappropriate products are the order of the day. Spammers take advantage of the temptation posed by these products, and they send their “hooks” to the masses.

3. Insurance or Health Policies

Similarly, we often receive Spam SMS, email, and even phone calls. On more than one occasion, we welcome offers of some of their irresistible insurance policies, which we never opted for in the first place.

4. Medical Or Home-Related Services

Within these topics related to health, you can enter all kinds of offers about miracle home remedies that promise an immediate cure or healing in the face of problems you most likely do not even have.

In addition, the medical products, foods, or sports supplements advertised in these contents are surprisingly cheap, making us think that they are not actual advertisements.

How does SPAM Harm Us?

The damage caused by SPAM can occur at different levels:

• Waste of time for users and companies, who have to invest time in its elimination
• Economic losses due to damage to systems or theft of financial information
• It generates traffic, bandwidth, and extra space, leaving fewer resources available for productive activities
• It forces service providers to allocate hardware and software resources for transmission, analysis, and filtering, increasing the intensity
• Reputation damage by hacking the email account or website
• Irritation and discontent. As users, it is common to feel annoyed by frequently identifying and deleting Spam. In the process, we could also lose essential texts by mistake
• False positives. They harm legal texts that are not delivered correctly to the recipient because they get treatment as Spam

The content of Spam messages can be very different, although they are usually related to payment systems, banks, pharmaceutical products, online games, etc.

Why Am I Getting So Many Spam Texts? (Explain Reasons in List Form)

There are multiple ways a Spammer can get your email address. In most cases, they are obtained by crawling the web and extracting all the email addresses that appear published.

Another of the most common formulas is accessing discussion lists or forums where an email address appears as a reference.

It also arises from companies that sell contact information to third parties. This aspect is usually consented to when accepting conditions of use that almost no one stops to read. This phenomenon is frequent in subscriptions to newsletters, distribution lists, or any other type of service that requires a contact email.

In the case of a registered domain, it is possible to appear in public databases internationally, which many spammers use to send Spam to random addresses built from this domain.

It is increasingly difficult to distinguish a conventional email from a Spam message. Furthermore, depending on each user’s profile, a notice may or may not be considered Spam. For example, advertising a sports magazine can be helpful to specific users and be considered Spam by others.

Several filters analyze each message’s headers, text bodies, and characteristics to detect if you receive malicious mail. However, there is a possibility due to its format, a message you want to receive may be Spam (for example, a message with “Hello, how are you ???” as the subject).

For this reason, we prefer you decide which messages to delete and which to confirm. Even so, if you are sure that the filter correctly identifies all messages considered Spam, indicate in the Filters and Rules section of your hosting Control Panel that you want to delete these messages automatically.

What To Do If You Get Spam Texts (Explain in List Form)

• Never publish an email address you want to be secure on a website. Also, do not sign comments in forums or discussion lists with this email. Be careful with newsletters or sources that sometimes sell contact information to third parties.
• Use several email accounts, one secure for your regular contacts or the receipt of important mail and another for public dissemination or various uses. When you make the address public, you can write it in the text on an image. In this way, you will avoid its automatic location.
• Never respond to an email identified as SPAM or access unsubscribe requests without ensuring that the origin is reliable. They are often used to confirm that an email address is active.
• Another element of risk is in the images attached to Spam, which you should avoid opening. They usually contain programming codes that confirm that the message is in your account to the SPAM sender. Most mail management programs block downloading message images by default; otherwise, you can set this option as the default in the preferences
• Ignore or eliminate phishing messages or chain mail with unreliable information; these types of emails not only serve to steal your data

How To Stop Receiving Spam Texts

Spam is more than an inconvenience. It’s the same for text messages sent from an auto dialler. They can legally send you updates and offers if you already have an association with a company. It does not apply to non-commercial activities such as political messages and polls.

But if you are receiving random messages from a company or organization you have never heard of, there is a good chance that this activity is illegal. It is also possible that the sender is phishing for information and trying to scam you. Fake business texts are just one of the ways criminals try to hack your personal information.

It is common knowledge that legitimate companies don’t request account information via text message or email. Genuine companies will never ask for your data, like your username or PINs. If you receive a text like that, it is almost certainly malicious.

Blocking Numbers

Blocking spam numbers is the easiest method, and with a general-purpose smartphone, it’s easy. Senders typically don’t realize their restrictions, so they can send messages all day without knowing you’ve ignored them forever. Just block the contact in order to avoid any spam text messages in your inbox.

How To Block Numbers on iPhone

Select the offending text and press the “i” in the upper right corner if you use an iPhone. You will find the option “Block,” which is all you have to do. If you remember that you signed up for updates from that company and want to receive more, the same number can resume whenever you want.

The blocked number can still leave us a voicemail; however, attending a live call only to face disappointment won’t be too much of a hassle. You will not receive a notification, so in the worst case, those voicemails can pile up without you noticing. It is unlikely, but if you receive many audio messages, you can delete them later.

How To Block Numbers on Android

On Android, you can do the same, except instead of an “I,” it’s the three vertical dots. Then select People and Options >> Block.

Place Number on Do Not Call

We also recommend that you place all the regular trouble-making spammers in your Do Not Call lists that are often maintained by your telco. It’s an efficient way to minimize spam messages from them.

Another reason for placing numbers on the do not call list is that the telcos share these lists to identify the spammers and take legal actions if and where necessary. So, it will be the right thing to do if you have regular spammers on your mobile phone and you’re placing their numbers on the do not call lists.

Report Spam Text Messages

As no application can get rid of annoying unwanted messages, we will explain how to get rid of that despicable content on WhatsApp that only takes care of sending you long chains with information that we do not ask for repeatedly.

This platform gives you two options to avoid communication with someone, either because you no longer want to talk to them or because they send you to junk messages. One is the blocking option, in which you do not allow the reception of letters from the phone number you have blocked.

Another option is to report the contact that is bothering you as Spam. It generates an automatic block and adds the phone number to a blocklist to verify if other users have also reported it. And eventually, you can delete the account if it is the suspicions affirmative.

All this information only shows the evolution that we have had. Although the privacy and security of our data are essential, it is also necessary to enjoy our time browsing the net, which has made many companies give it more relevance to the Spam issue.

Avoid Posting Your Phone Number on The Internet

One of the main reasons you might be receiving many spam text messages is because you have your contact details, especially your phone number, on the Internet. Perhaps, you posted an ad on OLX or Gumtree, or maybe you’ve mentioned your phone number on your social media profiles.

It can also be because you agreed to receive promotional news from a particular brand. Your personal information got leaked to guerrilla marketers who go to any extent to promote their clients. All these reasons point toward one aspect of the breach of personal information.

We recommend never posting your phone number on the Internet’s public spaces to avoid it. It is better if you refrain from posting any personal information on the Internet’s unsafe locations like public forums or social media groups accessible by the general public.

Conclusion

With all the spam text messages coming your way, you may feel the need to respond. You may be so upset that you want to tell the sender what you think. Maybe you love adventures and want to play with the sender. Perhaps you’re just bored and want to know who the sender is.

One word: STOP. At best, you won’t get an answer, and at worst, you could make the problem worse. No matter how outraged or curious you are, the less you interact with a spammer, the better off you will be.

It is even more vital not to click on any unknown links or download suspicious-looking files. Even if a sender looks legitimate, a wrong link could allow a stranger to spy on your phone, and the risk is never worth it.

To save yourself many headaches later, you can activate a ‘Do Not Answer list,’ which will protect you from spamming and unwanted telemarketing calls.

In theory, following this guide should stop telemarketers from calling you. However, that is not always the case.