How do I Stop Text Spam?

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  • Written By: Anna T.
  • Edited By: Melissa Wiley
  • Last Modified Date: 21 October 2019
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Stopping text spam can be difficult, but there may be some ways to do so depending on your cell phone provider. You should contact your cell phone provider and ask what you can do about text spam. Some providers will let you block any incoming text messages that originated from the web, which tends to be the way most spammers send their bulk spam messages. You might also be able to request that your provider block a certain number or website from contacting you at all. Additionally, you may have the option of creating a separate alias to use for trusted businesses who send you text messages you actually want to receive.

Different cell phone providers will have different options for dealing with text spam, but regardless of what you end up doing, you might want to take steps to prevent any future occurrences of spam. Receiving text spam on your phone is much more inconvenient than receiving it at your email address. This is because the spam you get in your email inbox doesn't cost you money, and you can normally block the sender with the click of a button. Depending on your cell phone plan, you may be charged for all incoming text messages you receive, which makes text spam potentially very expensive.


If you want to keep from getting more text spam, you should start being very careful about who you give your cell number out to. Try not to let anyone have it other than friends, family, and businesses you trust. You should be very wary of giving your cell number to any website or place of business that seems shady or does not promise to keep your information private. If the spam gets out of control, you may be left with no choice but to change your cell phone number, which would likely be very inconvenient for you.

Depending on where you live, there are probably certain laws in place regarding cell phone spam. You should familiarize yourself with these laws and report any spam that you are receiving to the appropriate authorities for your geographic location. Many countries have started a no-spam database that you can request your number be added to. This is similar to the do not call registry that prevents telemarketers from calling your home phone. If a business or website contacts you after you have been listed in the no-spam database for a certain length of time, the business or site could be fined or face time in prison as a result.


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Post 3

I have unlimited SMS text messaging on my phone, so I luckily don't have to pay if someone sends me a spam text. However, I never thought about how inconvenient that must be for people who have to pay by the text message for all of their incoming messages.

I think there should definitely be laws in place everywhere to prevent people from sending spam text messages to other people who may not be interested in hearing from them. As if telemarketers and email spammers weren't bad enough!

Post 2

@JaneAir - That sounds like a good solution. I tried to block a number through my cell phone company once, and it was a huge pain. I wonder why it's so much easier to do with one of those Internet phone numbers?

Anyway, I've actually never had to worry about how to stop text messaging spam, because I hardly ever give my number out. I've had a lot more experience with email spam, but luckily my spam filters usually get rid of it before I see it.

I wonder if there will eventually be spam filters for phones? That might be a good solution to this problem.

Post 1

One thing that I've done to seriously decrease text message spam is to get a Google voice number (I think Skype also offers a similar service too.) This is an Internet based phone number that isn't connected to my name, but forwards to my phone.

However, you can go online and block numbers with the click of a button. So whenever I'm filling out any kind of paperwork (such as getting a quote for an insurance policy or checking out an apartment building to rent) I use that number. That way if I start getting text spam, it's easy to block.

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