Reporting spam texts is vital for ensuring the safety of you and others. While they might seem harmless enough, as many as 3 in 5 people get caught out by them. Falling for a scam text can cost you money, your identity, or anything else the scammers want. To help you become more aware, this article covers everything you need to know about reporting spam texts.

What are Spam Texts?

While a spam text is technically any unsolicited text message from a business, in this instance we’re talking about phishing texts. Much like phishing emails, they’re designed to defraud you of sensitive personal information, such as your identity, bank details, or usernames and passwords.

It’s illegal for a company to send you unsolicited messages, regardless of whether they’re suspicious. So, the best way to stop spam text messages and protect your data is to report them.

How to Identify Spam Texts?

To know when reporting spam texts is appropriate, it’s necessary for you to know what to look for. Some can be incredibly convincing, particularly as more people wake up to the issue of spam texts.

Here are a few typical characteristics of spam texts so you know what to look for.

1. Package Delivery

Missed delivery texts are common (and legitimate). Scammers know this, and so they’ve latched on to it as a way to get people’s details.

A company like Amazon or FedEx will never ask for personal information or money in a text message.

Also, look at the URL (weblink) in the text message. Scammers use ones close to actual web addresses, but with minor details. They might choose something like amzn.com or ama.zon.com.

2. Refunds

Another common scam is refund texts. For example, a scammer might pose as the IRS or Amazon saying, “You’ve overpaid, reply with your bank details” or “click the link to receive your refund”.

Again, companies – and government departments – will never do this legitimately. The IRS, for example, will send you a postal letter.

3. Verifying Bank Accounts

You can probably get the picture by now, but asking you to verify your bank account is one of the oldest phishing scams out there.

It’ll usually say, “Your account is locked. Log in using the link to secure it.”

A bank won’t contact you via text to tell you this – it’ll ring you. Look out for suspicious URLs, and, if in doubt, contact your bank directly.

Some important takeaways for identifying scam texts are:

• Companies never ask for your bank details. If you’ve shopped with them, they already have them.
• Check the URL. It might have a random period in there or be a bit link (bit.ly). Companies don’t use these very often.

What to do if You Receive a Spam Text?

Other than reporting spam texts, what should you do when you receive one? The following steps are good practices to stop spam text messages from causing any damage.

1. Don’t click on the link in the message. Doing so could install malware on your device.
2. Don’t reply to the message directly. This shows your number is real, and a scammer can sell it to other scammers.
3. Review your phone bill every month. If you notice any unusual charges, report them to your service provider.
4. Never give out personal information. Legitimate companies won’t ask for it via text, and if you have a service from them, they’ll already have the relevant information anyway.
5. Block and report any spam texts (more on this below).

How to Report Spam Text on iPhone and Android?

Reporting spam texts is vital for ensuring they get taken down as quickly as possible. You can report them to your service provider using a dedicated number. Alternatively, you can do it directly on your device.

How to Report Spam Text on iPhone

To report spam text on iPhone, you must first set up an unknown senders filter. This is fairly easy to do:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click on the Messages option.
3. Look for Message Filtering and toggle Filter Unknown messages to on.

Doing this means that any message not from someone in your contact list gets flagged as junk, allowing you to report it. To report spam text on iPhone directly to Apple, you must:

1. Wait for a text from an unknown sender.
2. Click to open the message (but not the link in the text).
3. Beneath the message will be a blue symbol that says Report Junk. Click it.
4. Finally, click Delete and Report Junk. This sends the information directly to Apple.

If one slips through the filter, you can’t report it as spam text on an iPhone. Instead, you manually block the sender in the normal way.

How to Report Spam Text on Android

The process of reporting spam texts on Android is much simpler, as you don’t need to set up a filter first. So, to report spam texts on Android, do the following:

1. Open up the Messages app.
2. Click on the conversation you want to report.
3. In the top right corner is the 3-dot menu. Click it.
4. Click Details then Block & Report Spam.
5. Finally, click Report Spam and OK.

You have more freedom for reporting spam on Android because you can essentially report anything you want. If there isn’t an option to report as spam, do so directly through your carrier.

Using Textr’s Free Tool to Protect Your Number

The Textr app has plenty of useful features that businesses can use to collaborate and communicate with their customers.

Also, its online SMS service reduces privacy concerns. It provides you with a web browser platform for receiving SMS verification codes.

This means you don’t have to give out your number to companies that might sell it in the future.

Final Thoughts on Reporting Spam Texts

Reporting phishing attempts might seem like work, but it’s the only way to stop spam text messages. You may be confident in your ability to spot them, but others aren’t.

Hopefully, using Textr’s online SMS service will reduce the chances of scammers getting your phone details in the first place.