1 Solution
I continuously get spam texts from the Trump camp, and am sick to death of it.
I don't dare respond or say stop, for fear that will only incite them to spam me more.
Each time I get Trump spam I forward it to 7726 and I also hit the Report Spam button. Yet Verizon continues to allow it.
I don't think I should have to pay extra for any spam-limiting function when Verizon knows that I don't want it, that it's annoying, and that it's harassment.
Solved! Go to Correct Answer
-Andi
Hello, pleasantown. Help is here as we know how it is to receive unwanted text messages. These unwanted messages can be stopped by registering your phone number with the FCC. Please see the link below to begin.
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts
-Natasha
Thank you Nastasha.
Unfortunately, the Do Not Call list, which my number has been registered with and updated on for years, is only for unwanted calls, not spam texts.
To learn about Trump illegally gets around the laws regulating political spam texts, click on the "Political Campaign Robocalls & Robotexts" link on that page.
Thank you so much for this info, pleasantown. It is still important to update your number on the Do No Call list as it is recommended to do this every 30 days.
-Natasha
Sure, it's updated, but it has no effect on text spam.
So why doesn't Verizon do anything about all the Trump spam that I have reported to it dozens of times? What is the point of Verizon having users report text spam to it, if it doesn't do anything about it?
pleasantown, we know how important this is to you, and definitely want to make sure that we do everything we can. To confirm, what is the make and model of your device? Have you tried blocking the number before? I understand your concern regarding sending a "Stop" message. However, this is the most effective way to opt out of a texting campaign. You can definitely block the number, or also text "Stop" to stop receiving these messages.
~Izzy
I am using an iPhone 14.
As I reported in this thread, I do report each one as Spam, which I understand is supposed to also block the number. Nevertheless, I get these Trump campaign messages from a different number every time.
I have previously replied with "stop" to messages from the Trump campaign, and that does not stop them sending me more messages from other numbers, as I described.
What Verizon can and needs to do is identify the overriding source of these repeated harassing messages - the Trump campaign - and require/block them to stop sending any of them to numbers that have been repeatedly reporting/blocking them .
If reporting the spam messages to Verizon when I delete them doesn't prompt Verizon to block either the numbers they're being sent from or the sender, then what does it do?
Thank you so much for letting us know, pleasantown! To clarify, reporting spam won't block the number. See #4 under "Report Spam to 7726" here: https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-301493/ Have you blocked the number directly from your device as well? https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201229
~Izzy
I don't know why I am being asked the same questions repeatedly and being given the same unhelpful advice repeatedly and thus having to repeat myself over and over again to you.
And I don't understand why I am repeatedly not getting my question answered.
As I said several times before in this thread, the Trump campaign spam texts are coming from a different number each time. So blocking each number does not stop their spam.
Each time I get these Trump campaign spam texts, I select "Delete and Report Spam," and I forward them to 7726.
So again I ask, if Verizon does not take action to make the Trump campaign stop their spam texts when I report them to Verizon as I just described, what is Verizon's purpose in having me doing that reporting?
The same spam bots that originate Trump spam are (in a way) replying to your complaints.
There is little to no accountability from Verizon, or any other corporate giant.
We ijits just have to shut up and take it.
We want to make sure we're giving you all the information you're looking for. The forwarded to SPAM are used to help us filter unwanted texts. You can also find more info here: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/stop-unwanted-robocalls-and-texts As mentioned in the FCC website, campaigns should honor requests to stop by replying "STOP". You can also submit a complaint if you believe they are not following the FCC's rules via that link.
~Jesse
Yes Jesse, we know the way things SHOULD work. The issue, and you would know this if you read what we are actually saying, is that reporting spam is not working. Additionally, these are not actually coming from a campaign, and thus do not honor the STOP request.
Do better.
And also what we are repeatedly saying ad infinitum is that nothing that Verizon employees are repeatedly telling us to do works.
If the spam texts are not legitimately coming from the Trump campaign or other reputable source, crooks don't care about the Do Not Call list and are spoofing or otherwise changing the originating number they use constantly, so they can keep on spamming. This is why anti-spam apps can't catch them all, nor can carriers get rid of them either.
In these cases, you do NOT want to respond to the texts at all as that just tells the spammer your number works and they'll sell it out to others to spam you even more. About the only recourse you have is to block the numbers or short codes the spam is coming from each time, or set your phone to block all texts from unknown senders or have them go to a separate folder (searching the internet will come up with instructions on how to do this).
While legitimate businesses are not supposed to use the "existing relationship" thing with you anymore for 3rd party marketing, it's also a good idea to review your online account details with any merchant or company you conduct business with and restrict how much 3rd party marketing they are allowed to do to prevent your personal information from being distributed as much.
If nothing else, it's an election year and political campaigning will be over by early November.
We understand the importance of being able to avoid spam calls. Have you tried manually blocking these numbers? Would changing your number be a possibility?
~Geo
Yes, if you would read this and many other threads, you would know that blocking does nothing. The fact that you say spam calls instead of texts proves you aren't even reading what we are writing.
They just spoof a different number every time. And changing my number shouldn't even be your solution. There's no guarantee that whatever number you give me would receive fewer texts.
The solution is simple. Allow us to block texts by keyword.
Hey Geo, why do you even bother to reply to this thread if you don't read a single word from it?
May I please get an answer to the question I have been asking?
Again, my question is:
If Verizon does not take action to make the Trump campaign stop their spam texts when I report them to Verizon as I just described, what is Verizon's purpose in having me doing that reporting?
Thank you!
Hi, sorry to hear you're constantly getting spammed from random numbers with the Trump campaign. My guess as to why you're not getting much of an answer is because political campaigns are a legitimate activity and the spam reporting thing is more to identify sc*mmers. Have you tried blocking unknown senders from texting? There are also free anti-spam apps you could try, but there's no way to eliminate spam 100%.
The 7726 forwarding program is not run by Verizon based upon what I read at the FTC's website. Whoever or whatever that's hooked up with is simply a means for all carriers to identify suspicious texts.
Thanks, sounds like Verizon doesn't do anything to block spam texts, so that's why no one from the company is answering my question.
For me, blocking unknown senders would block more legitimate senders than it would spammers.
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