Stopping Text Spam (4 Ways to Report Text Spam)

Why am I getting spam text messages? How to report text spam so that you can get it to stop, plus what the law says.

I’ve been ignoring text spam messages on my phone for too long.

It started out with just one text spam out of the blue that I quickly erased. Then I began seeing them every other month. Now I am receiving text spam messages about once a week.

The most recent one was from Sender 42227 and read,

“Official Reward Notice: claim your $1,000 Walmart gift card at www.hyprdrct.com/r/?s-1449&a=206798 Keep GAPC txt act active.txt stop 2 end”.

Aside from the nuisance of having these spam messages in my queue, the most annoying part about these spam messages is the feeling that each time I receive an unsolicited message it might be costing me money ($0.10 here, $0.20 there).

I finally called my cell phone provider last week to discuss my concerns with them and found out that there are far greater concerns than the ones my mind had conjured up.

Why Am I Getting Spam Text Messages? Are Spammers Allowed to Text You By Law?

In March 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules that prohibit sending unwanted commercial email messages to wireless devices without prior permission.

However, this ban is only good for messages sent to cell phones from internet domains. Short Messages (SMS), which are messages sent from one cell phone to another, are not covered by this ban.

You can see where this is going – instead of a company sending you a spam text from @ronniespaintshop.com, they now are sending them to you from 48888. And it's legal to do so.

Do You Get Charged for Receiving Texts that are Spam?

Here is where I was very surprised.

I assumed that if you have an unlimited texting plan you will not be charged extra for text spam. After all, it shouldn’t matter who is sending you texts with an unlimited plan.

A Verizon Wireless representative confirmed that with unlimited text messaging plans, you are, in fact, not charged per text that you receive. She clarified that if you do NOT have an unlimited text messaging plan then the cost for Verizon customers would be $0.20 per text.

However, the representative discussed another way that many people with unlimited text plans are charged anyway:

most of these companies have you opted in to their service without any effort on your part.  Simply by receiving their text and with no further action from you, your cell phone bill will reflect this charge (typically $9.99)

The representative I spoke to said that your “permission” was given somewhere along the way, but that many times it is without you knowing.

Sneaky!

Specifically, she said that this could be from putting your phone number on Facebook (which I have not done).

The representative also explained that these types of messages where there is an option to purchase or subscribe by a third party vendor are called “Premium Messages”, and are delivered to your phone via a Short Messages (SMS).

You’ll know you have received one because they look like the one sent to my phone above and are sent by Short Codes with four, five, or six-digit numbers.

Fortunately for me, the representative checked my bill, and I had not been charged.

Pssst: Beware of the Vehicle Car Wrap scam, which can occur by text as well. Also, be here's how to identify a craigslist scammer.

How Do I Stop Getting Spam Texts? Report Spam Texts

The good news is that you can stop the spam text messages from coming to your phone.

There are several ways to help with stopping text spam:

1. Reply to these Stop Words: The first and easiest step to take is to reply to the sender with either “stop”, “quit”, “end”, “cancel”, or “unsubscribe”. This may work; however, companies generally have more than one shortcode so they may just start texting you again with another shortcode.
2. Call Your Wireless Company: A more effective way to stop these premium messages is by calling your wireless company's customer service and asking them to block premium messages with shortcodes from coming to your phone.  If you were charged and did not want to be, take the time during this phone call to have them deduct these charges from your bill (this is at their discretion).
3. Report Your Spam Texts to Your Carrier:
   1. Report text spam – Verizon: First of all, don't respond to any text you think might be spam. Then, forward the suspected spam text message to short code 7726. Here's more information about what comes next in their investigation.
   2. How to Report Text Spam – ATT: Report your spam text to AT&T here. Here's what to do after being scammed.
   3. Report spam text – iPhone: You'll need to find out who your cell phone carrier is (it's the company you send your bill to). Then, either use the info above or google your cell phone carrier company + report spam text.
4. File a Complaint with the FCC: No matter which carrier or type of phone you have, you can report your spam texts by filing a complaint with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).

Personally, I think it is a bit outrageous that companies can opt you in without you doing anything to warrant this. It could be argued that you did, in fact, opt-in to these companies.

But if you cannot remember doing so (and the representative said that many consumers can't remember doing so) then there is something wrong with this system. Fortunately for me, I was not charged, even though my cell phone provider was more than willing to check my bill and reverse any charges.

Has this ever happened to you? Were you charged, and was your cell phone company willing to reverse the charges?  

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Amanda L Grossman

Personal Finance Writer and CEO at Frugal Confessions, LLC

Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor, Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Frugal Confessions. Over the last 13 years, her money work has helped people with how to save money and how to manage money. She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, LifeHacker, Real Simple Magazine, Woman's World, Woman's Day, ABC 13 Houston, Keybank, and more. Read more here or on LinkedIn.

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