What is the best way to stop spam text messages? is it possible to text them a virus or something?

[brainhulk]

Asking for a friend. He doesn't want to use 3rd party apps. He is suspicious of them.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Just reply “stop” all promotional alert machines should recognize that and stop.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Really? I always was taught that replying anything to a spammer is just means for them to be sure there‘s actually someone on the receiving end so they would keep the number/mail as a “valid” one (meaning even more spam when they sell the database to other spammers).

l have been out of the industry for a while but I believe the people who make text machines to promote stuff need network (carrier) access to have them work. Carriers in the US and EU require this functionality. Basically if you don’t comply you’ll be shut off entirely. Carriers don’t want their devices being flooded with so many spoof calls & text that people stop using them.
When you reply it will be known you are an active number and this may cause some other attempt to reach you but I’m not sure.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some of them tend to come from spoofed numbers. Like, they are not even a valid number. Sometimes it's literally a single digit. No idea how they do this or why the phone system allows it. So not much you can do about those, I don't even think a reply would go anywhere since it's an invalid number.

Fun fact though, it's possible to send a text to an email address. It's also possible to text from an email, but that's not as straightforward as you need to know the carrier of the number as each carrier will have their own @Domain but basically it's usually something like 1112223333@txt.carrier.com or something like that.

 

[Spacehead]

Yeah, i always figured it was like with email... don't reply to spam as i just lets someone know it a valid address. I just wish phones would display the name of the sender if it's in your contacts before you read the text.

Fun fact though, it's possible to send a text to an email address. It's also possible to text from an email, but that's not as straightforward as you need to know the carrier of the number as each carrier will have their own @Domain but basically it's usually something like 1112223333@txt.carrier.com or something like that.

That's the only way i can get things into/out of my phone(ringtone, pics etc).
Funny though, people with smart phones can't send me a text to my email. It always comes from their email. Maybe because they're perma-logged into their email it defaults to using that?

 

[brainhulk]

Hmmm, I wonder if its possible to auto spam them back with a million texts from a dummy email.

Anybody know of a good program that will do that?

 

[KMFJD]

forward it to 7726 (SPAM)?

 

[snoopy7548]

Stop using your real number when signing up at porn sites...

 

[Captante]

Just reply “stop” all LEGIT promotional alert machines should recognize that and stop.

Ftfy.

Unfortunately many sms spammers will only see that "stop" as confirmation their messages are being read by somebody just like a lot of spam callers do

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Ftfy.

Unfortunately many sms spammers will only see that "stop" as confirmation their messages are being read by somebody just like a lot of spam callers do

Still not sure at least in the US or EU that spammers could exist for any useful amount of time. The Carrier knows it is a spam machine, they will block it. Unlike an email account the carrier makes money on subscribers and needs access to competitors networks to provide coverage.
Scenario one is a rouge carrier or some virtual carrier just allows this crap to continue, the people who own the “pipes” will shut them off. This has a monetary cost, not sure Howe much but it won’t be cheap.
Scenario two, a user on a big carriers network. That user will be shut off. These are all easy to do things. Yeah the person who gets shut off will get a few warning and yeah they could game the system by buying prepaid sims but again there is cost to this stuff. $30 worth of prepaid sims better earn at minimum $30 worth of business from the spam sms.

 

[Muadib]

Thank the Lord, I've never gotten one.