We all get them: random, unwanted text messages, in many cases designed to deceive you.
Regulators are now taking major steps toward stopping robotext scammers.
“These robotexts are making a mess of our phones. They are reducing trust in what is such a powerful way to communicate,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
The FCC is requiring wireless carriers to stop unwanted texts at the network level, putting rules in place that mandate carriers block texts that come from unallocated, unused, or illegitimate numbers.
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“In other words, we require providers to stop the texts that are illegal,” Rosenworcel added.
Robotext complaints have skyrocketed more than 500% in recent years. From 2015 to 2022, complaints to the FCC rose from 3,000 to more than 18,000 per year.
Cyrus Walker, the managing principal of Data Defenders, LLC, believes the FCC has taken the correct first steps, but must add enforcement measures for the new rules to be effective.
“There is certainly a lot of work to be done, it’s a complex problem, pervasive problem, and a huge problem,” Walker said. “Now what they can do is go after the biggest guys, the worst offenders out there, but there are hundreds of thousands of senders out there that fall in that category.”
The bottom line for the consumer is to stay alert.
If you receive a robotext, ignore it. Never click a link in a robotext that could give a scammer access to your phone and block the numbers.
“Enabling the features that are already built into the phone and just using common sense, not giving your cell number to people you don’t trust or know, because you never know where that number might wind up,” Walker added.
The FCC’s action has the support of attorneys general in all 50 states. The FCC is asking for public comment on further proposals, including potentially extending the do-not-call registry to also cover text messaging.
Follow these links for more advice on blocking robotexts, and information on filing complaints with the FCC if you’re receiving many of these kinds of texts.
