My phone has been blowing up lately. Yes, I have dozens of fans — I call them Howley’s Wolf Pack — but that’s not who texts me at all hours of the day and night. No, I’ve been getting texts from numbers telling me a delivery I never ordered has been lost. Or for products that will, confusingly, “enhance our sluggishness.”
Yep, I’m talking about spam texts. And lately my phone has been inundated by them. And chances are yours has too.
It’s not just an annoyance either. Spam texts usually intend to trick you into giving away your information or cash. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were 377,840 reports of text fraud in 2021 costing victims $131 million. That’s up from 334,524 reports and $86 million in 2020.
Thankfully, you can still take steps to recognize spam texts and limit them, even if you can’t eliminate them.
Let’s start with what to do if you receive a spam text. If you’re like me, you’ve got every person you know saved in your contacts list. So the first sign of a possible spam text is a strange number.
I’ve been receiving texts for products I’ve never heard of and for deliveries that I haven’t ordered. Recently I got a text claiming that delivery of my Dyson vacuum was being held up, because I didn’t pay $1.02 in tax on it. I mean, I love vacuuming as much as the next person, but I’m not that fancy.
With tax season in full swing, you might also receive spam…
