Everyone knows how annoying — and dangerous — robocalls can be. It’s the reason Congress passed the TRACED Act in 2019 to crack down on the calls. But in the wake of new restrictions, spammers and scammers have increased their use of text messages.
According to the U.S. PIRG Education Fund — a consumer watchdog group — in the year year since the law went into effect, robocalls decreased by half, but robotexts increased from about 1 billion per month to nearly 12 billion.
Robocalls and text message scams harm everyone, but are especially hard on the aging population.
“Too often, we hear stories about elderly people who lose their life savings after responding to someone they think is from their bank,” said Teresa Murray, a watchdag at U.S. PIRG.
What to watch out for
Spam and scam texts usually include a link. The most common scams mimic texts alerts you might get from your bank or from an online retailer. Examples include:
- Texts claiming to be a receipt for a paid bill (that you don’t recall paying)
- Texts claiming be from shippers like UPS and FedEx with “urgent information” about your package
- Texts claiming that your account — anything from Netflix to a credit card — has been suspended
- Texts claiming your bank account has been frozen.
How to protect yourself
Here are some ways to avoid being scammed by robotext messages:
- Never click the link provided in the message.
- Double check the number the message is coming from. Typically spam texts come from a number that is longer than the standard 10 digits.
- Never respond to the message. Even if the message offers the option to “opt out” by replying STOP, it’s best just to block the number instead.
- Just like in spam emails, there are often misspelled words in the message.
- Always ignore messages claiming to be from your financial institution if they don’t come from a number you recognize. If you’re worried there’s something wrong with your account, call your bank directly
For more consumer guidelines on call blocking tools and resources visit: fcc.gov/call-blocking
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