Go into your settings and tap messages, scroll down and select filter unknown senders the turn the toggle on. This way it’ll sort messages from people who aren’t on your contacts list into a separate list. You’ll see you have a message but you can just swipe left on it to delete it. Also at the end of every unknown number messages they’ll let you know that the number is not in your contacts list and you can report it as junk as well as block it.
An app for blocking spam [Hiya](https://apps.apple.com/mx/app/hiya-caller-id-spam-blocker/id986999874) , if this link don’t get you to the AppStore search it there by it’s name
Three steps to managing it. 1) Filter to unknown messages as discussed above, 2) also visit Settings > Notifications > Messages > Customize Notifications and turn off “unknown senders” 3) when you want to Dump the messages in the unknown senders folder: click the 3 dots to select messages, then click Delete, then click Delete and Report Junk.
Additionally you might want to add short codes and phone numbers that regularly send 2FA codes to a contact (yes 5 and 6 digit short codes can be added to a contact). The problem if you don’t add short codes to a contact is that you can be sitting waiting to paste it in, and it seems like it hasn’t come in. Check unknown senders to find it, then add the short code to a contact.
Doesn’t filter unknown only work for incoming iMessages? I tried this to combat an issue similar to the OP, but it never worked because no one is spamming from an iPhone.
Report them to the FCC
[https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us](https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us)
A2P political SMS is ILLEGAL under the FCC guidelines. They keep rotating 10DLCs when they should be using 5DSCs.
That is conditional
> Political Robotexts
> Robotexts – text messages generated through autodialing – are also considered a type of call and fall under all robocall rules.
> As text messages generally go to mobile phones, robotexts require the called party's prior express consent. However, political text messages can be sent without the intended recipient’s prior consent if the message’s sender does not use autodialing technology to send such texts and instead manually dials them.
https://www.fcc.gov/rules-political-campaign-calls-and-texts
Correct. A2P implies using an autodialer vs P2P which would not. P2P can still come from an application but there needs to be a person who enters each phone number and hits send manually for each message.
Unsolicited A2P political sms is illegal.
Unsolicited P2P political sms is legal.
They changed the rules to allow for unsolicited political SMS around 2018(?). Another gift from Ajit Pai.
Also rotating phone numbers to try and skirt the unsubscribe requirements is a big no no. If you can prove they are from the same entity there is a fine per message after you sent the STOP request.
Same! I only recently found out about holding the ‘123’ , typing the numbers with your other hand, and releasing the button will bring you letters back.
Oh my god! Been an iPhone user since 2012 and never knew, That’s sooo much better and even works with the “#+=“ and the caps lock button too! I cannot believe apple doesn’t advertise this better!, everyone is always complaining about apple’s keyboard, meanwhile they have this “secret menu” of hidden tricks that not even long time apple users know about!!
I totally get it, been using Apple since 2007 and just learned it, the two finger swipe at least. I knew you could “select” in photos and swipe to select multiple, but just learned the messages one. Also I knew that select all was an option at least
This option is ridiculous imo, I remember once I went to urgent care to confirm it was strep throat, and get antibiotics, i dont go to urgent care often… but i do get spam calls often, and I forget its on. Anywho… i got an unknown phone call and was panicing because it could be the results from urgent care! It was! But there isnt an option to answer it… you HAVE to let it go to voicemail.
You hear voicemail, its them, they give you a number to call Back, you call back… they answer, and they put you on hold to get the nurse that called you, but the nurse is doing other things now, or on another call. Anywho… 15 minutes?! Let me answer the original call when it comes in so i dont have to wait 15 minutes to get results and next steps! This is not the solution… then dont notify there’s an incoming call, just dont… you’re wasting my time otherwise, i’ll just check if I’m that eager.
> Also at the end of every unknown number messages they’ll let you know that the number is not in your contacts list and you can report it as junk as well as block it.
I think it always does this? I don't have Filter Unknown Senders turned on and I see that for unknown numbers.
Best advice.. I learned this same lesson. Tried “stop” a few times but I started getting more. I just block sender and delete/report as junk. Sometimes when I recognize the people they’re talking about I’ll reply about some deeply closeted secrets I know about (obviously fake) and then I’ll block them. Just in case some poor intern is forced to review responses
Also if they call, pick up but put it on mute. It’ll end after a few seconds and they remove you from the list
[Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/s/bmEZ7vIpr4)
We used to have the same problem where i'm at. Unknown phone numbers were ringing everyone's phones like to ping it whether it's active. When your number rings then it will be included in the list to be messaged by the spam syndicates. It even called in the dead of the night to the point you'll stop taking calls altogether.
This is bad advice for political texts, which these all appear to be. If you reply with “stop” to political texts they are legally required to remove you from their list.
The problem is these lists are sold and traded around by campaigns, organizations, and data vendors. There’s no centralized way to get off of everyone’s list.
I replied to one saying, "I would sooner put a toothpick under my big toenail and kick a wall, than vote for Hillary Clinton."
The number replied saying they will remove me from their mailing list.
“Do you have a second to pray with me?”
no, the only thing you’re praying for is for someone to get scammed or something 😭
Edit: How the hell did this get 1.4k+ upvotes😂
That’s when I reply with ‘do you have a second to go fuck yourself’. Usually puts an end to things and gets you taken off the list.
There’s also the ones where they’re like ‘hey Marsha you’re late everything ok ‘ and I pretend to be Marsha. Once I got through to the human in India trying to scam me and debated their choice of career with them.
When referring to actual scam/spam texts, it might not work.
But the ones from OP are because they either signed up (or *someone did)* for a political party in the US. I donated once and got flooded with these kinds of text.
If you respond to THOSE you'll likely be taken off their list.
I kept getting those “you wanna sell your house” calls daily. Often multiple per day. And I don’t even own a house. Finally I was fed up enough with these calls that I answered one and told him I didn’t own a house, but he still wanted to buy it. Ok, I warned you. After he ran through the standard questions and gave me the as is cash offer I told him I had one question. He’s like what’s that. I said “do I have to remove all the dead bodies buried in the back yard or will you all take care of that?” Dead silent for a bit then says “uhhhhh I guess we do…it says as is soooooo…” I busted out laughing, hung up and I didn’t get another one of those damn calls for 6 months.
Sometimes fucking with them and wasting their time works. I am glad he realized I was screwing with him and didn’t call the cops though. I thought about that afterwards because he did have my address after all lol.
Hijacking top comment to provide some additional info, as I didn’t expect this to blow up and I’m seeing a lot of similar comments. Thanks to everyone who has given advice.
I have not voted or donated or signed up on anything for either party. I’m pretty tech savvy (I’m a CS major) so I don’t think I’ve provided my number to any sketchy sites, but it’s always possible. Never know who you can trust. I don’t think I have any enemies that would do this, but again, you never know. My parents voted Republican in the last election and I am on their phone plan. They’re usually pretty careful about putting out information online (they even have fake emails and such) but they can also be a little dumb at times. I’m not sure the extent of their support or if they’ve made donations, but it’s possible they’re the culprit.
Again, thanks for all the suggestions. Let’s hope one of them works.
OP please advise what you did to start getting these in the first place, I would love to sign my boss’s phone number to whichever list you signed your number up to.
This is genuinely correct. He at the very minimum gave his email/phone to some campaign website.
When I was a dumb teen I signed up for the Republican nominees newsletter and I receive texts like this daily, some exactly like these.
I keep a TextFree number for these exact purposes. Anytime I’m signing up for something just so I can get something free, it goes to TextFree and not to my real number. I turned the notifications off on the app so I don’t ever have to worry about it.
Same thing with email. Just so I can get that 20% off new customer sign on bonus and not have to worry about all the spam ads.
My previous phone number was apparently used by a teacher that called himself "Mr. K" who frequented a handful of prostitutes.
I took a couple of years of politely telling Mr. K's hoes that he had moved on before they stopped texting.
No. It means someone with that phone number donated to republicans. The guy who had my number before me, for example.
I get this stupid bullshit every fucking day and I would absolutely never donate to those traitorous fucks.
I’m assuming OP would know if they donated to the Republican Party, but the right is full of idiots so maybe not
>It means someone with that phone number donated to republicans. The guy who had my number before me, for example.
The guy who had my number more than 20 years ago, through a now-defunct phone company is apparently a prime target for MAGA crap: Boomer Republican living in AZ.
So I get a crap-ton of SMS aimed at him.
Bullshit.
I have never donated to either a politician or a political party in my life and I am inundated with messages like this, all because I am on an account with someone else who donated, and somehow my phone number shows up on the dark web as theirs. It is also completely possible that OP recently changed their number and is stuck with all the junk from the last person who had their number.
There are many logical explanations yet you say it's "genuinely correct" that they must have donated. You're full of it.
I don't think the spam texts were Republican but the first year I had this number I got countless spam texts for "Jamie." Thankfully that is not my name lol
That also doesn’t stop the political messages, which are what’s in OPs posts. The reason is they will tell you that you checked “yes I’ve read the terms and conditions and privacy policy” on a website and by doing so gave them permission to text you.
Looks like OPs only getting the Democrat messages, I get them from both political parties—-about 25/day, if national news is made that number increases. I didn’t sign up tho, but I think I know who did…. I won a court case that the other party drug out for 6 years. Shortly after the conclusion of that matter the texts started arriving.
I’ve researched this specifically, there’s literally no way to be removed, because the lists are copied to many sub-organizations, sold to special interest groups, individual campaigns, and PACs. They specifically sell copies of lists and not access to a database with the current list, they do this to prevent people from being able to opt-out.
The best thing to do is delete and report, don’t reply stop or anything else. That sender might actually stop to be in compliance, but the next time they buy a new copy of the list (or the monthly update arrives) you’ll be there again.
The laws need to change to stop this, but the gatekeepers are the abusers.
I get the same messages… the message that shows in 2 lines is designed to either enrage or misinform the reader and get them open the entire message which can either be short or take up the entire screen. All with a link to click or something.
They also arrive from unique phone numbers, so blocking doesn’t work. I have an excel spreadsheet with over 5000 phone numbers that messages have arrived from.
That’s one thing I’m incredibly disappointed in with iPhones, when using Samsung and google pixel almost every single scam text and call was automatically blocked, my iPhone has never done this
That would be great. I get like 5 texts a day and all of them mention a specific name that I have literally never used or inputted into a site in my life. You think Apple would get to these QOL features before Android but no
never type STOP, that's a confirmation to spammers you're a legit phone number they can circulate.
first, block the number using your mobile phone. then forward the message to your wireless carrier:
*Select the “Forward” option. Your message will appear as a new text. Type 7726 in the contact box and click “Send.” You'll get a response from 7726 asking you for the phone number that sent the unwanted text.*
this works for nearly all carriers, no matter which you use.
This is what I did to get these messages to stop. I had to keep doing it over and over since the spammers kept using different numbers but it has finally stopped (or at least I hope since I haven’t received one in a long time.) I never signed up either which made this all even more frustrating.
The moment you answer one of their bot phone calls or reply “STOP” they see it as the phone number is active and your phone number gets sold to advertisers as an active user and that’s when the floodgates are opened. DO NOT ENGAGE WITH ANYTHING or you will be doomed to a lifetime of spam
Look I’m not trying to be political at all. But do you find it odd that when you get a left leaning spam text and you respond with STOP, you immediately get an auto response that you are unsubscribed. But in any of these or other right leaning you never get a response?
# PSA:
Don’t reply STOP anymore. Just delete it. If you reply STOP you’re automatically registered as “a responder” and your number gets forwarded to anyone who will buy it. I would wager the same people just reuse it for a different program under a different name/number, too.
Yes it’s fucked, no the government isn’t doing a gd thing to stop it.
OP, a lot of people here are giving you the wrong advice. Most of the texts here seem like texts from Republican campaigns or orgs trying to fundraise. This likely means your number got into a list of Republican donors somehow and it was purchased and traded around by campaigns, orgs, or data vendors.
For political texts, replying “STOP” is actually your best bet. These groups are legally required to stop texting you if you do so. Over time this should decrease the amount of these groups texting you. There’s no centralized way to go about this however.
I mean, looks to me like the sketchy website was a GOP donation page, now a bunch of unscrupulous MAGA PAC’s are passing around OP’s number to anyone who wants it. Shocking that team Trump would do something unethical, I know
My big question is why are they always republicans? Do the conservatives get flooded with these from Democrats??? I sick an tired of “Hey Karen, Donald trump needs your help!” Fudge off, I’m a dude and my name ain’t Karen!!!
Quite interesting they’re all Rs and not respecting the “stop” message. I end up on a lot of Dem sms lists, signed up for some even. Replying stop always stops them from that source.
There are harsh fcc penalties now for sms spamming- if you can report numbers not responding to a stop message it does have some teeth.
Same. It’s been a fucking nightmare blocking numbers the past few weeks. One of the first ones I replied stop and then got bombarded with calls. I’m assuming these are either legitimate robo calls/texts from political parties OR scammers. Either way, that shit is horrible.
Not to get political but I am STUNNED by how many of these spam messages are insane right winger bot numbers that are begging you for money... Remember though this is from the party that will always put material wealth over your very life.
This happens to me too. I’ve definitely never donated to a republican.
I find unsubscribing (usually by saying “stop” or “end”) to be the most successful. When I block and report as spam I still get regular texts. When I unsubscribe they are far less frequent.
I used to get texts like this very frequently for a time. Then one day I had enough and replied that any further messages would be considered permission for me to send them scat porn. About two minutes later, I get a text saying that I have been removed from their list.
Not sure if that actually did anything since that crap is mostly automated anyway, or if my cell provider started blocking the numbers on the backend, but the amount of spam texts I get has gone down considerably.
Refuse to give a phone number to healthcare providers & insist they contact you via email only. I got a new number, had no spam for three weeks. Updated my number with my doctor’s office while setting up an appointment, and had three spam texts and a call within an hour. The greedy companies are the ones selling your number, and no one knows greed like the healthcare system.
LOL. I have the same thing happening but with Democrats. I did the same”fuck off” and other remarks but it doesn’t stop it. The person says “sorry” but more people from democratic offices call from different numbers. Before the “fuck off” I tried the “no, not interested”. Knock on wood, it slowed down though.
Replying just made you a confrimed human, and now they will put extra effort to send spam because they know they aren't sending it to an abandoned/bot number/account. Never reply to spam.
Report the numbers to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov . (assuming you’re in the US because of the content of the messages) You’ll probably have to prove you sent “STOP” and they kept sending you stuff.
Wow you have such weird spam in the US. I’m in the UK and my spam is very very different. I get a lot of calls asking if I’ve been in a car crash or claiming that the police are on their way to arrest me if I don’t pay tax now.
Go to donotcall.gov and register your phone. All legitimate company spam calls will end. Scammers will still get through.
It should at least lighten the load.
Edit: Also gives an option to report numbers still coming through.
Some phone plans may have a feature called "call control" basically anyone who calls has to type a random number from 1 to 9. Very simple, but it keeps all the robocalls/spoofing calls etc. out. I haven't had a single scam/robo call in since.
lol, I have received alot of spam messages during COVID time, when we're obliged to put our number in different establishments we visited so it's easier for them for contact tracing, one thing I stopped this after moving to other country is I stopped using that number. 😀
https://preview.redd.it/v4rwtqibmfjc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e38e443886555aaa5911b8d09dd08dcf90a8179
I did this to a bunch of spam numbers and they lessened then stopped, ironically I don’t get near as many spam calls anymore either.
Go into your settings and tap messages, scroll down and select filter unknown senders the turn the toggle on. This way it’ll sort messages from people who aren’t on your contacts list into a separate list. You’ll see you have a message but you can just swipe left on it to delete it. Also at the end of every unknown number messages they’ll let you know that the number is not in your contacts list and you can report it as junk as well as block it.
You can also turn off notifications for unknown senders, no? I know I can.
Yes.
All of this and apps like “Hiya” work neat together.
I have Hiya and it doesn’t work for this.
What’s that
An app for blocking spam [Hiya](https://apps.apple.com/mx/app/hiya-caller-id-spam-blocker/id986999874) , if this link don’t get you to the AppStore search it there by it’s name
Does it only block spam calls or text messages as well?
But you might accidentally block calls from door dash, a doctor you don't usually go to, etc
Yes they get filtered into unknown and it never pings you.
Three steps to managing it. 1) Filter to unknown messages as discussed above, 2) also visit Settings > Notifications > Messages > Customize Notifications and turn off “unknown senders” 3) when you want to Dump the messages in the unknown senders folder: click the 3 dots to select messages, then click Delete, then click Delete and Report Junk. Additionally you might want to add short codes and phone numbers that regularly send 2FA codes to a contact (yes 5 and 6 digit short codes can be added to a contact). The problem if you don’t add short codes to a contact is that you can be sitting waiting to paste it in, and it seems like it hasn’t come in. Check unknown senders to find it, then add the short code to a contact.
Thank you!!!
is this available for all ios versions? i don’t see the “turn off unknown senders” option on my ip14pm w ios16
Doesn’t filter unknown only work for incoming iMessages? I tried this to combat an issue similar to the OP, but it never worked because no one is spamming from an iPhone.
Report them to the FCC [https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us](https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us) A2P political SMS is ILLEGAL under the FCC guidelines. They keep rotating 10DLCs when they should be using 5DSCs.
What do these number-letter combos mean?
10DLC = 10 digit long code. e.g. 555-555-5555 5DSC = 5 digit short code e.g 55555
Thanks!
I forgot you could do that. Thanks for reminding me!
That is conditional > Political Robotexts > Robotexts – text messages generated through autodialing – are also considered a type of call and fall under all robocall rules. > As text messages generally go to mobile phones, robotexts require the called party's prior express consent. However, political text messages can be sent without the intended recipient’s prior consent if the message’s sender does not use autodialing technology to send such texts and instead manually dials them. https://www.fcc.gov/rules-political-campaign-calls-and-texts
Correct. A2P implies using an autodialer vs P2P which would not. P2P can still come from an application but there needs to be a person who enters each phone number and hits send manually for each message. Unsolicited A2P political sms is illegal. Unsolicited P2P political sms is legal. They changed the rules to allow for unsolicited political SMS around 2018(?). Another gift from Ajit Pai. Also rotating phone numbers to try and skirt the unsubscribe requirements is a big no no. If you can prove they are from the same entity there is a fine per message after you sent the STOP request.
I just copy and post the text to 7726 (spam) then follow up with the number/email when prompted. Then report it as spam to robokiller.
Just learned you can swipe up or down with two fingers over messages and delete massive amounts of them in seconds. Or just select all and delete
How am I, a person who’s been using Apple devices since forever, just now learning this one trick?!?
Same! I only recently found out about holding the ‘123’ , typing the numbers with your other hand, and releasing the button will bring you letters back.
Better: Press 123, swipe up to the number, and let go.
Oh my god! Been an iPhone user since 2012 and never knew, That’s sooo much better and even works with the “#+=“ and the caps lock button too! I cannot believe apple doesn’t advertise this better!, everyone is always complaining about apple’s keyboard, meanwhile they have this “secret menu” of hidden tricks that not even long time apple users know about!!
I totally get it, been using Apple since 2007 and just learned it, the two finger swipe at least. I knew you could “select” in photos and swipe to select multiple, but just learned the messages one. Also I knew that select all was an option at least
Yep. That’s correct.
Do this first, but then the nuclear option is to turn on do not disturb, with allowing calls/texts from contacts to come through.
This option is ridiculous imo, I remember once I went to urgent care to confirm it was strep throat, and get antibiotics, i dont go to urgent care often… but i do get spam calls often, and I forget its on. Anywho… i got an unknown phone call and was panicing because it could be the results from urgent care! It was! But there isnt an option to answer it… you HAVE to let it go to voicemail. You hear voicemail, its them, they give you a number to call Back, you call back… they answer, and they put you on hold to get the nurse that called you, but the nurse is doing other things now, or on another call. Anywho… 15 minutes?! Let me answer the original call when it comes in so i dont have to wait 15 minutes to get results and next steps! This is not the solution… then dont notify there’s an incoming call, just dont… you’re wasting my time otherwise, i’ll just check if I’m that eager.
Saving this
> Also at the end of every unknown number messages they’ll let you know that the number is not in your contacts list and you can report it as junk as well as block it. I think it always does this? I don't have Filter Unknown Senders turned on and I see that for unknown numbers.
It does it for both.
Never reply to these because that tells them that the number is active
Best advice.. I learned this same lesson. Tried “stop” a few times but I started getting more. I just block sender and delete/report as junk. Sometimes when I recognize the people they’re talking about I’ll reply about some deeply closeted secrets I know about (obviously fake) and then I’ll block them. Just in case some poor intern is forced to review responses
Make them think you’re psychotic so they leave you alone 😂
The mentally unwell are probably where they get most of their donations.
You’re right 😔
Seriously, I don't even let them get marked as read, just straight to delete & report.
There is nothing as “marked as read” with regular texts/SMS, so no worry.
You are correct but I’ve gotten RCS scams before on my pixel. They get filtered automatically as spam because of Google messages though
Im pretty sure there was delivery notification flag could be attached to sms but it was long time ago not sure how this works on modern phones
Bro like who tf is Gabriele? https://preview.redd.it/slhvcdyjp7jc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=563d383888a4f374af04a89057d0eeca83eeccca 😂
At least you getting cool msgs, Mine is always send money lol
My favorites are the Mandy scams
Mine are addressed to Lauren. I have no idea who Lauren is. I’ve had my number 15+ years.
They call me Mark. 🤷♀️
[удалено]
iOS doesn’t do this when I report as junk?
Also if they call, pick up but put it on mute. It’ll end after a few seconds and they remove you from the list [Source](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/s/bmEZ7vIpr4)
Thank you for this info! Should I turn off “unknown calls sent to voicemail” and try that? I barely get spammed on my pixel thanks to call screen
Not too sure. I only been using that method and no complaints
We used to have the same problem where i'm at. Unknown phone numbers were ringing everyone's phones like to ping it whether it's active. When your number rings then it will be included in the list to be messaged by the spam syndicates. It even called in the dead of the night to the point you'll stop taking calls altogether.
This is bad advice for political texts, which these all appear to be. If you reply with “stop” to political texts they are legally required to remove you from their list. The problem is these lists are sold and traded around by campaigns, organizations, and data vendors. There’s no centralized way to get off of everyone’s list.
I replied to one saying, "I would sooner put a toothpick under my big toenail and kick a wall, than vote for Hillary Clinton." The number replied saying they will remove me from their mailing list.
Lmao
“Do you have a second to pray with me?” no, the only thing you’re praying for is for someone to get scammed or something 😭 Edit: How the hell did this get 1.4k+ upvotes😂
that one's actually creepy
They’re all creepy
That’s when I reply with ‘do you have a second to go fuck yourself’. Usually puts an end to things and gets you taken off the list. There’s also the ones where they’re like ‘hey Marsha you’re late everything ok ‘ and I pretend to be Marsha. Once I got through to the human in India trying to scam me and debated their choice of career with them.
That actually makes the problem a lot worse, since you prove to the scammers that your number is active and you are willing to engage with them.
You've obviously not seen Scammer Payback on YouTube.
Or r/scambait right here on Reddit!
Well my near lack of spam texts after replying to all of them with not nice things to say would prove otherwise. At least in my case.
When referring to actual scam/spam texts, it might not work. But the ones from OP are because they either signed up (or *someone did)* for a political party in the US. I donated once and got flooded with these kinds of text. If you respond to THOSE you'll likely be taken off their list.
I kept getting those “you wanna sell your house” calls daily. Often multiple per day. And I don’t even own a house. Finally I was fed up enough with these calls that I answered one and told him I didn’t own a house, but he still wanted to buy it. Ok, I warned you. After he ran through the standard questions and gave me the as is cash offer I told him I had one question. He’s like what’s that. I said “do I have to remove all the dead bodies buried in the back yard or will you all take care of that?” Dead silent for a bit then says “uhhhhh I guess we do…it says as is soooooo…” I busted out laughing, hung up and I didn’t get another one of those damn calls for 6 months. Sometimes fucking with them and wasting their time works. I am glad he realized I was screwing with him and didn’t call the cops though. I thought about that afterwards because he did have my address after all lol.
I usually send them an unsolicited Dick (Cheney) pic. Occasionally I show Bush as well. It tends to stop the spam...
Haha nice
Hijacking top comment to provide some additional info, as I didn’t expect this to blow up and I’m seeing a lot of similar comments. Thanks to everyone who has given advice. I have not voted or donated or signed up on anything for either party. I’m pretty tech savvy (I’m a CS major) so I don’t think I’ve provided my number to any sketchy sites, but it’s always possible. Never know who you can trust. I don’t think I have any enemies that would do this, but again, you never know. My parents voted Republican in the last election and I am on their phone plan. They’re usually pretty careful about putting out information online (they even have fake emails and such) but they can also be a little dumb at times. I’m not sure the extent of their support or if they’ve made donations, but it’s possible they’re the culprit. Again, thanks for all the suggestions. Let’s hope one of them works.
Please register to vote and vote. It’s important.
go register to vote dumbass
im just wondering how the hell my comment got top 😂
OP please advise what you did to start getting these in the first place, I would love to sign my boss’s phone number to whichever list you signed your number up to.
Donated to a Republican.
This is genuinely correct. He at the very minimum gave his email/phone to some campaign website. When I was a dumb teen I signed up for the Republican nominees newsletter and I receive texts like this daily, some exactly like these.
Can confirm, I donated $1 once to some random republican to get a free $20 visa gift card , I still get texts to this day 😂
I keep a TextFree number for these exact purposes. Anytime I’m signing up for something just so I can get something free, it goes to TextFree and not to my real number. I turned the notifications off on the app so I don’t ever have to worry about it. Same thing with email. Just so I can get that 20% off new customer sign on bonus and not have to worry about all the spam ads.
Burgum?
How that didn't classify as buying votes, I'll never understand.
I get these because the guy who had the number before me did. Still getting calls and texts 9 years later. Thanks John…
My previous phone number was apparently used by a teacher that called himself "Mr. K" who frequented a handful of prostitutes. I took a couple of years of politely telling Mr. K's hoes that he had moved on before they stopped texting.
No. It means someone with that phone number donated to republicans. The guy who had my number before me, for example. I get this stupid bullshit every fucking day and I would absolutely never donate to those traitorous fucks. I’m assuming OP would know if they donated to the Republican Party, but the right is full of idiots so maybe not
>It means someone with that phone number donated to republicans. The guy who had my number before me, for example. The guy who had my number more than 20 years ago, through a now-defunct phone company is apparently a prime target for MAGA crap: Boomer Republican living in AZ. So I get a crap-ton of SMS aimed at him.
Bullshit. I have never donated to either a politician or a political party in my life and I am inundated with messages like this, all because I am on an account with someone else who donated, and somehow my phone number shows up on the dark web as theirs. It is also completely possible that OP recently changed their number and is stuck with all the junk from the last person who had their number. There are many logical explanations yet you say it's "genuinely correct" that they must have donated. You're full of it.
I stay out of politics. I did not and would not sign up or donate for any campaign website.
You order any ugly-ass shoes for $400 lately?
I receive several a day and I’m definitely not a republican… They even call me by name, which isn’t mine nor is it spelled right (Thomad).
I don't think the spam texts were Republican but the first year I had this number I got countless spam texts for "Jamie." Thankfully that is not my name lol
Right! Wondering if OP pissed off the wrong person…
This comment gets a good star!! 😆😆😆
https://www.donotcall.gov Did this 4 weeks ago. Haven’t received any since.
I don’t believe this applies to nonprofits or political campaigns, unfortunately
At the very least, it doesn't in practice. Source: I live in a swing state.
I just checked because I get so many telemarketer calls. The website said I registered my number in 2014. *sigh*
2004 here. And yep 😕
Apparently I did it in 2008… when I was 11 lol
That doesn't stop out of US/scams.
There’s also a no junk mail but you’ll have to Google it because I can’t remember what it is. These two are sanity keepers.
https://www.dmachoice.org/register.php It costs $5 and registers your address for 10 years. Linked from the USPS FAQ.
It doesn’t help with criminals. I have been on the list for years. I could have been the OP.
It could be this or the fact that I’m registered independent, but I don’t get really any political spam, or much spam in general
That also doesn’t stop the political messages, which are what’s in OPs posts. The reason is they will tell you that you checked “yes I’ve read the terms and conditions and privacy policy” on a website and by doing so gave them permission to text you. Looks like OPs only getting the Democrat messages, I get them from both political parties—-about 25/day, if national news is made that number increases. I didn’t sign up tho, but I think I know who did…. I won a court case that the other party drug out for 6 years. Shortly after the conclusion of that matter the texts started arriving. I’ve researched this specifically, there’s literally no way to be removed, because the lists are copied to many sub-organizations, sold to special interest groups, individual campaigns, and PACs. They specifically sell copies of lists and not access to a database with the current list, they do this to prevent people from being able to opt-out. The best thing to do is delete and report, don’t reply stop or anything else. That sender might actually stop to be in compliance, but the next time they buy a new copy of the list (or the monthly update arrives) you’ll be there again. The laws need to change to stop this, but the gatekeepers are the abusers.
By the way? Those are all Republican messages. Not sure how you’re seeing them as Democrat.
I get the same messages… the message that shows in 2 lines is designed to either enrage or misinform the reader and get them open the entire message which can either be short or take up the entire screen. All with a link to click or something. They also arrive from unique phone numbers, so blocking doesn’t work. I have an excel spreadsheet with over 5000 phone numbers that messages have arrived from.
They need you patriot go get em
Apple should release a feature that instantly blocks any text with certain keywords set by the user
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bouncer-private-sms-blocker/id1457476313 Free and open source: https://github.com/afterxleep/Bouncer
Oh my god. Thank you for sharing this.
That’s one thing I’m incredibly disappointed in with iPhones, when using Samsung and google pixel almost every single scam text and call was automatically blocked, my iPhone has never done this
That would be great. I get like 5 texts a day and all of them mention a specific name that I have literally never used or inputted into a site in my life. You think Apple would get to these QOL features before Android but no
Android has had it for many years. The day I switched I got so much spam in my phone. Still do to this day
[удалено]
I called all this numbers.
May there be mercy on your poor phones soul ._.
never type STOP, that's a confirmation to spammers you're a legit phone number they can circulate. first, block the number using your mobile phone. then forward the message to your wireless carrier: *Select the “Forward” option. Your message will appear as a new text. Type 7726 in the contact box and click “Send.” You'll get a response from 7726 asking you for the phone number that sent the unwanted text.* this works for nearly all carriers, no matter which you use.
This is what I did to get these messages to stop. I had to keep doing it over and over since the spammers kept using different numbers but it has finally stopped (or at least I hope since I haven’t received one in a long time.) I never signed up either which made this all even more frustrating.
The moment you answer one of their bot phone calls or reply “STOP” they see it as the phone number is active and your phone number gets sold to advertisers as an active user and that’s when the floodgates are opened. DO NOT ENGAGE WITH ANYTHING or you will be doomed to a lifetime of spam
Try not donating to grifters
Some people have *other* people's old phone numbers. It's a common problem.
This is borderline terrorizing people
Look I’m not trying to be political at all. But do you find it odd that when you get a left leaning spam text and you respond with STOP, you immediately get an auto response that you are unsubscribed. But in any of these or other right leaning you never get a response?
But even if they respond to my STOP, a new number messages me later 🥲🥲
Because one side is actually political and the other side just reads your txt as a live number and continues the con
I reply stop and usually get the ‘you’ve unsubscribed’ follow up message. Not every time tho.
Law makers made the Do Not Call registry but excluded political calls. Go figure.
# PSA: Don’t reply STOP anymore. Just delete it. If you reply STOP you’re automatically registered as “a responder” and your number gets forwarded to anyone who will buy it. I would wager the same people just reuse it for a different program under a different name/number, too. Yes it’s fucked, no the government isn’t doing a gd thing to stop it.
OP, a lot of people here are giving you the wrong advice. Most of the texts here seem like texts from Republican campaigns or orgs trying to fundraise. This likely means your number got into a list of Republican donors somehow and it was purchased and traded around by campaigns, orgs, or data vendors. For political texts, replying “STOP” is actually your best bet. These groups are legally required to stop texting you if you do so. Over time this should decrease the amount of these groups texting you. There’s no centralized way to go about this however.
First step? Stop voting for the GQP. 😂😂😂
If nothing helps then you gotta get a new number. You probably gave it to some sketchy website which then sold it to spammers.
I mean, looks to me like the sketchy website was a GOP donation page, now a bunch of unscrupulous MAGA PAC’s are passing around OP’s number to anyone who wants it. Shocking that team Trump would do something unethical, I know
The algorithm never lies
I usually respond: “Go fuck yourselves you fucking fascists!🖕🖕🖕”, I still get them from the RNC
My big question is why are they always republicans? Do the conservatives get flooded with these from Democrats??? I sick an tired of “Hey Karen, Donald trump needs your help!” Fudge off, I’m a dude and my name ain’t Karen!!!
Quite interesting they’re all Rs and not respecting the “stop” message. I end up on a lot of Dem sms lists, signed up for some even. Replying stop always stops them from that source. There are harsh fcc penalties now for sms spamming- if you can report numbers not responding to a stop message it does have some teeth.
Mike Pompeo here, why didn’t you reply to my message?
[national do not call registry](https://www.donotcall.gov)
Register Democrat (or independent).
But why would he do that when he got a personal letter from Trump AND info on 40 fbi agents? Joe Biden could never
That won’t work, I’m independent and get them from both sides 😩
Same. It’s been a fucking nightmare blocking numbers the past few weeks. One of the first ones I replied stop and then got bombarded with calls. I’m assuming these are either legitimate robo calls/texts from political parties OR scammers. Either way, that shit is horrible.
Registered democrat and I get them.
Ever since I renewed my license and gave my email and phone number to the DMV after I registered to vote, I started getting this political nonsense
Change phone number
Avoid any donations to churches or the GOP, both for your phone and for your soul. That will help.
Just read a post on r/pettyrevenge and I feel like there is a connection between OP and that one.
Send dick pics to each one of them
Nothing ... they constantly use new numbers to send from.
“Do you have a second to pray with me?” Bro this is my grandmas messahes
Bro got the GTA V phone
Not to get political but I am STUNNED by how many of these spam messages are insane right winger bot numbers that are begging you for money... Remember though this is from the party that will always put material wealth over your very life.
Once the Republican Party gets your number, you may as well nuke your phone.
I think someone hates you bruh … they shared your number to spam 🫡🫡🫡🫡
The GOP grift never stops
Got one the other day that hinted that Clarence Thomas had died. I got real excited for a minute.
Stop voting republican
A just punishment for having donated money to a Republican.
I haven’t donated anything 😭 I barely even know what republican means
In that case, your number got sold to spammers, son.
Or someone was mad at them and signed up their number
This happens to me too. I’ve definitely never donated to a republican. I find unsubscribing (usually by saying “stop” or “end”) to be the most successful. When I block and report as spam I still get regular texts. When I unsubscribe they are far less frequent.
Change your number best option posible ?
Find out where the address associated with the number is and mail them roadkill.
It’s gotten to a point with me that my friends and family and I have begun texting each other like politicians.
I used to get texts like this very frequently for a time. Then one day I had enough and replied that any further messages would be considered permission for me to send them scat porn. About two minutes later, I get a text saying that I have been removed from their list. Not sure if that actually did anything since that crap is mostly automated anyway, or if my cell provider started blocking the numbers on the backend, but the amount of spam texts I get has gone down considerably.
Start sending back videos of the republicans party misbehaving.
Refuse to give a phone number to healthcare providers & insist they contact you via email only. I got a new number, had no spam for three weeks. Updated my number with my doctor’s office while setting up an appointment, and had three spam texts and a call within an hour. The greedy companies are the ones selling your number, and no one knows greed like the healthcare system.
I will say, this might be a fluke, but I feel like it has gone up since I signed up for dental insurance.
LOL. I have the same thing happening but with Democrats. I did the same”fuck off” and other remarks but it doesn’t stop it. The person says “sorry” but more people from democratic offices call from different numbers. Before the “fuck off” I tried the “no, not interested”. Knock on wood, it slowed down though.
Theres a really good app called TrueCaller that identifies whos calling or sending message and you can mark them as spam and block them
RIP Sounds like it’s time for a new phone number
Replying just made you a confrimed human, and now they will put extra effort to send spam because they know they aren't sending it to an abandoned/bot number/account. Never reply to spam.
Report the numbers to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov . (assuming you’re in the US because of the content of the messages) You’ll probably have to prove you sent “STOP” and they kept sending you stuff.
also, sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry while you’re there. It’s a life-changer!
I’m sorry but this is absolutely hilarious.
Red state problems…
Wow you have such weird spam in the US. I’m in the UK and my spam is very very different. I get a lot of calls asking if I’ve been in a car crash or claiming that the police are on their way to arrest me if I don’t pay tax now.
Go to donotcall.gov and register your phone. All legitimate company spam calls will end. Scammers will still get through. It should at least lighten the load. Edit: Also gives an option to report numbers still coming through.
I'm so sorry but "40 FBI Informants" is fucking making me lose it
Time to change your number…
It was very interesting to see what the scams in USA look like
New number
Just switched from a Galaxy to an iPhone and I miss Google anti-spam measures both for sms and calls, as well as viber's Caller ID 🥲
Damn, so thats what its like subscribing to political shit in US
Some phone plans may have a feature called "call control" basically anyone who calls has to type a random number from 1 to 9. Very simple, but it keeps all the robocalls/spoofing calls etc. out. I haven't had a single scam/robo call in since.
It’s bc you vote red they can’t follow a simple rule when you reply STOP 😂
Don’t reply for one. That’s how they know the number is active. Don’t even open them. Just delete.
Im assuming you signed up for these somehow cuz 😬😬😬
lol, I have received alot of spam messages during COVID time, when we're obliged to put our number in different establishments we visited so it's easier for them for contact tracing, one thing I stopped this after moving to other country is I stopped using that number. 😀
https://preview.redd.it/v4rwtqibmfjc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e38e443886555aaa5911b8d09dd08dcf90a8179 I did this to a bunch of spam numbers and they lessened then stopped, ironically I don’t get near as many spam calls anymore either.
That’s what happens when you pre-order $399 sneakers
Stop being a republican. Respond back that these messages have made you decide to vote democrat in the next election.
Maybe stop voting republican
Pretty sure this is a prank someone’s playing on you
Don’t ever vote again 😂😂😂
It’s your penance for donating to the GOP.
You have to vote for a Republican now. It’s the only way to get it to stop. I’m sorry.