If you’ve owned a cell phone in the last decade, chances are you’ve received more than a few voicemails or phone calls from an “Unknown” Caller ID asking you if you’re interested in extending your car’s warranty. Although federal law requires carriers to combat robocalls with anti-spam technology, call scammers have become equally adept at dodging such attempts at protection. With spam calls now declining, we are beginning to see a rise in spam texts, otherwise referred to as “smishing.” Watchdogs with the U.S. PIRG Education Fund report that in the last year alone, the volume of spam texts has increased from 1 billion to nearly 12 billion per month. If you’ve ever received a suspicious text from an unknown number, follow these steps to protect yourself and the information you store on your phone from potential attacks:
- Pause Before Responding. Often, your phone number is used to authenticate your identity for banking or other important online purposes. If you receive a text message from your bank or from a social media website asking to verify your identity, but you haven’t recently attempted to log in to any website or access your bank account, this message may be a potential threat.
- Don’t Download Anything. Many spam messages will attempt to lure you in with words such as “You’ve won!” or “Your account is on hold,” followed by a link to “claim your prize” or “unfreeze your account.” NEVER tap on a link or attachment sent from a number that is not already in your Contacts. When in doubt, it’s always best to access attachments directly from a company’s website or contact a customer service representative to verify that the message you receive is legitimate.
- Filter Your Messages: Both iOS and Android have built-in protection to spare you text messages from unknown senders. However, with this feature enabled you can still miss important messages, so it’s vital to always save known numbers to your Contacts list. On an iPhone, simply go to Settings > Messages > Filter Unknown Senders. On an Android, go to Messages App > tap the three dots > Settings > Spam Protection.
- Report the Text. Finally, if you believe you’ve been the recipient of a spam message, report the text from your device, “block” the phone number it was sent from, and file a consumer complain with the FCC to ensure that phone number is monitored for potential threats to others. On an iPhone, look under the message and tap “Report Junk.” Then, tap the phone number > Info > Block this Caller. On an Android, tap and hold the number to select it, tap the three dots on the top right of your screen, then select Details > Block & Report Spam.
Current clients of The Wealth Conservancy may contact the office at 303.444.1919 for additional information or help setting up their phone to filter and block spam text messages.