Stopping Spam Text Messages

[capt223]

I get spam text messages at all times of day/night that are annoying and come from many different phone #s.  Verizon only allows 5 numbers to stop, far too few for the many #s the spammers use.   It also is a real pain to have to try to list a phone # (including a complaint on the Do Not Call Registry) after you get one.  It is sort of like locking the barn after the horse has left.   It also makes the phone owner do something actively to stop a practice that I do not think we should be subjected to.  

Verizon can do more to help us.  It cannot be too hard to identify a phone # that sends out a thousand txt messages and BLOCK them from getting to customers' phones.

Until Verizon does help us ..... the only solution I have read on this site is to reply to each message with STOP.  I wonder if doing that only reinforces the spammers as they then know they got to a live phone #?

Any other ideas?

Will Verizon help us?  (Yes, I've called Verizon to complain...... to no avail.)

[spottedcatfish]

You can get a new phone number at any tme, free of charge.  It will be a pain to notify your new contacts, but perhaps less annoying than the spam?

You should also go through your blocks and add Premium SMS as well as texts from the internet.  If they are using e-mails or a website to send the texts, that will stop them.

[August03]

You can subscribe to the Usage Control Feature. This feature is $4.99 monthly per line. You can block up to twenty numbers instead of five. Follow the link below to view information about usage controls and sign up for usage controls feature.

https://wbillpay.verizonwireless.com/vzw/nos/uc/uc_home.jsp

[RacerX9]

Why should we have to pay extra to stop spam calls/texts? Verizon is already charging an exorbitant amount of money to use a phone on their network. A small program to eliminate unwanted solicitations will not set the company back very much at all in comparison to their revenue. After visiting this site is when I am hit the worst with spam. My belief is the site itself is to blame.

[spottedcatfish · Accepted solution]

I'm not sure how you think the Verizon site is causing spam text messages and calls?  Unless you are posting your number in public on this site (which is your own choice), there's no real way to link them.

Verizon just carries the communication, they cannot be expected to somehow create a magical algorithim that will distinguish spam from legitimate calls and texts, because to the computer passing them along, they usually look the same.  You can block Premium SMS, texts from the internet and calls/texts from up to 5 numbers for free.  You can place your phone number on the federal Do Not Call list and learn about procedures to report people violating the rules of the Do Not Call registry.  You may also be able to use filtering options on your phone (like setting a "no ring" option for unknown callers, getting a texting app that automatically filters incoming messages, and using a voicemail service like Google Voice or Youmail that gives you greater control over your voicemail messages).  Finally, you have the option to change your number, for free online, if you think that it has been compromised.  It seems to me like you have a great many tools to help you manage spam texts and calls on your cellphone without paying Verizon anything extra.

[HARDYHARHAR]

Greetings SpottedCatfish:

I was intrigued by the option: "like setting a "no ring" option for unknown callers" but I could find no such option on my 2y/o Windows phone.  Please share which phones offer that option.

I have blocked internet based texts and spam telephone numbers with some improvement but I too long for more privacy.

I will investigate Google Voice or Youmail soon.

Thanks4Tips

[DionM_VZW]

---

HARDYHARHAR wrote:

Greetings SpottedCatfish:

I was intrigued by the option: "like setting a "no ring" option for unknown callers" but I could find no such option on my 2y/o Windows phone.  Please share which phones offer that option.

I have blocked internet based texts and spam telephone numbers with some improvement but I too long for more privacy.

I will investigate Google Voice or Youmail soon.

Thanks4Tips

---

Hello HARDYHARHAR! Thanks for participating in our community discussion. I can help you with your question about phone capabilities. I know that you're looking for a list of phones that have the ability to disable tones from unknown callers. There are actually quite a few! I recommend helping you with your phone instead. You mentioned that your phone is Windows and that it is 2 years old. If you tell me the model, I can look at whether it can perform the task in question. Thanks! 

[SuzyQ]

---

RacerX9 wrote:

... After visiting this site is when I am hit the worst with spam. My belief is the site itself is to blame.

---

Interesting - I've been using this site for years . . . and rarely get spam on my phone. 

[Nfeschet]

These phone numbers aren't even the real phone number they are calling on so it is useless to block them because they will keep calling from different numbers. I think the way Verizon answered this issue is totally unprofessional. Verizon is a phone company and provides a service. These is a horrible problem and there needs to be a solution. Verizon and other phone companies should be working with the government to come up with a solutions as we are just the consumer. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Nfeschet, we know that receiving unwanted calls can be a headache, especially if they keep calling from different numbers. The last thing we want is for you to think we are unprofessional. We offer a wide variety of blocking options that can suit your needs. You can check them out through this link: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/block-numbers/. Let us know if this helped.

GilbertoL_VZW

[KNKL]

I had to laugh at this response, "they cannot be expected to somehow create a magical algorithim."  Using the word "algorithim" sure sounds like it is very complicated.  Let me help.  How about looking for text messages that are sent to more than X Number of people?  Or how about an easy function to "report spam"  right in your Verizon message app and flag as potential spam.

For those of you that respond "stop" the sender now knows you get the texts at that number and your number is now more valuable and you will not get many more spam texts.

This is a very big problem and the carrier that figures this out will probably get more customers.

[greatgarden007]

As of Today, 2/24/20...I have received a total of 654 Spam Text Messages as well as SPAM phone calls. The reason I can give you an actual number amount for the quantity of SPAM calls and text messages, is because I have reached out to Verizion for HELP in this issue. It all started the day I actually received my sim card, (securely delivered and signed for by FedEx on 1/21/20. AFTER ACTIVATION the spam calls and messages started as early as 7:00 AM and ending around 9:00 PM, DAILY ! 

Reaching out to Verizion Support, and actually SPEAKING to a REAL PERSON via "New Land Line Phone" ( I am a 69 year old CHEMO Patient, and needed to have a cell phone line for my medical team to message me, after, as well a prior to next scheduled chemo). I have NOT given this NEW VERIZION PRE-PAID cell number to anyone because the spam had consumed my day, so my next best option was to order a LAND-LINE through Charter/ Spectrum, and then WAIT for "Verizion Support to "CALL ME BACK, as promised on the last 7 phone calls, (speaking to a REAL Person). As of today / 2/24/20....no call back has taken place AT ALL. I was promised they would be able to Change my current cell number, and they have even "OPENED a CASE, pertaining to my issue with the current number. I have made a better choice as of Saturday 2/22/20 ....I ordered a NEW SIM CARD from Spectrum Mobile, and am now waiting for sim card to arrive by FedEx and securely sign at delivery scheduled for TOMORROW 2/25/20. At this point I just wonder....Hmm...Does VERIZION have a team somewhere that starts calling your NEW Cell Phone Number ( just activated)....to see how much you're going to tolerate the 652 spam calls and spam text, until you figure out how to block spam messages in iPhone ( which I have learned how to do NOW, which is why all these spam calls and messages are actually saved in "My Verizion" account, so VERIZION can view the actual amount of incoming calls and messages that have been ongoing since Day 1.

Rather than wait any longer for HELP from Verizion Support ( been waiting since January 21, 2020) I have removed my auto-pay option from my account, and will let this number just float away into the Verizion Cess-Pool of random numbers as soon as I RIP-OUT the Verizion Sim Card, and replace it with the new Spectrum Mobile Sim Card when it arrives. NEVER AGAIN will I seek mobile service from VERIZION....NEVER-EVER_AGAIN !!!!

[vzw_customer_support]

Oh no, greatgarden007! This is certainly not the way we want you to feel! Our intention is to help you in the best way possible and provide the world-class customer service you deserve. 

We certainly understand your frustration, greatgarden007. We have all been victims of these calls at one point or another however we have great news for you! We now offer a great new feature called Call Filter, which provides spam alerting, spam filter, blocking tools, and the option to report numbers. The best thing about this feature is that it is absolutely free! We are including a link that will give you more information, and also the option to add it directly from your phone. http://spr.ly/66051mt1z;

RachelM_VZW

[Amyiable]

Dear Verizon, the link you provided to help greatgarden007 is dead or does not work.  I have the same problem with spam text messages from random phone number. 

[KH-OrnEsh]

Due to the age of this thread, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

[vzw_customer_support]

Amyiable, 

I am so sorry for the difficulty with the link! I will share it again here, so that you can give it another try: 

http://spr.ly/6602GOED0  

While we do not yet have a way to filter out spam texts from many numbers, you can forward all spam texts to 7726 to alert our tech team and help to reduce spam text messages on our network. Will that work for you? 

MichelleH_VZW