You receive a text message, claiming that you won something. The message contains a link to click on in order to supposedly claim the prize that you have won. However, once you click on it, you have unknowingly downloaded malware onto your phone that can steal personal information and give it to the scammers who were texting you. That’s why it’s important to get rid of these pesky scam messages before they can infect your phone. In this article, we will briefly explain how to report scam text messages before they can scam other people.
Example of Scam Text Messages to Watch Out For
There are many ways a scammer can scam you just by sending you a text message:
- They can promise you free prizes and gifts after winning a fake contest.
- Offer you a fake credit card just to steal your personal information from you.
- Offer to help pay off your student loans to get a hold of your financial information.
- Send phishing text messages about a package from FedEx or Amazon that you’re supposedly going to get.
- Stating that there was suspicious activity on one of your online accounts and you need to click the link to solve it immediately.
All of these excuses have one similar goal in mind: to get your hands on your personal and financial information. Once they have that, they can drain your bank account as well as commit identity fraud under your name.
How to Report Scam Text Messages
On all phones, you can do the following:
- Copy the message and forward it to 7726 (SPAM)
- Report it to the FTC
You can also report messages on the messaging app you are using, based on the type of phone you have:
On an iPhone
When you receive a text message from someone who isn’t on your contact list, there will be a “Report Junk” button under the text message. Click this button and then afterward click “Delete and Report Junk.” The iMessage app will report the scam text message and sender to Apple, as well as delete the message from your device. Once a message is deleted, you cannot undo this action.
On an Android
On individual messages from the scammer:
On your Google Android phone, open up your messages app. Then hold down the conversation board that you want to report as spam. Tap Block, Report Spam, and then click OK.
You can also open the message and click More (the menu with three dots), Details, Block and Report Spam, Report Spam, then click OK.
On group messages from the scammer:
On your Google Android phone, open up your messages app. Then, open the conversation you would like to report. Click More (the menu with three dots), Group Details, then Report Spam.
Did you report a message as spam by mistake? You can reverse the report on Android!
On your Android phone, open up your messages app. Tap More (the menu with three dots) then click Spam and Blocked. Select a conversation that you have previously reported as spam. Then tap Not Spam and Unblock if you have also blocked the contact. Once you un-report a contact, it will be removed from the Spam and Blocked folder.
Social Catfish is Here to Help You!
At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you think you’ve been a victim and need help figuring out how to report scam text messages.