Who Sent That Text Message

Spam texts have become one of the more persistent forms of unsolicited contact. The FTC received over 376,000 text message fraud reports in a recent year, and industry estimates suggest that billions of spam texts are sent to U.S. consumers annually. No single method eliminates spam texts entirely, but using the methods below in combination substantially reduces what reaches your main inbox and gives your carrier and the relevant agencies the data they need to block more of it at the source. <h2>Method 1: Report and Block on Your Phone</h2> The fastest way to stop texts from a specific number is to block it directly from your messages app. This is a device-level block — future messages from that number will not deliver to your inbox. On iPhone: Open the conversation. Tap the phone number or contact name at the top of the screen, then tap the info icon (i). Scroll down to "Block this Caller" and confirm. To report a message as junk at the same time, return to the Messages app, swipe left on the conversation, and tap "Report Junk" if the option appears. Reporting as junk submits the message to Apple for analysis. On Android: Open the conversation in Google Messages. Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner. Select "Block & report spam." You will be asked to confirm and given the option to report the conversation to Google. Confirming both the block and the report is recommended. What this does and does not do: Blocking stops future messages from reaching you from that specific number. It does not stop texts from different numbers operated by the same organization. <h2>Method 2: Enable "Filter Unknown Senders"</h2> Rather than blocking numbers individually after they contact you, this method shifts all messages from unknown senders into a separate space before you ever see them. On iPhone: Go to Settings > Messages. Scroll down to "Message Filtering" and toggle on "Filter Unknown Senders." When this is enabled, messages from numbers not in your contacts are sorted into a separate "Unknown Senders" tab within the Messages app. These messages are not deleted — you can read and respond to them — but they generate no notifications. On Android (Google Messages): Google Messages spam protection (see Method 1) automatically moves messages that Google's system classifies as spam to a spam folder. The effect is similar: suspected spam arrives silently, separated from your main message thread. <h2>Method 3: Forward Spam Texts to 7726 (SPAM)</h2> Forwarding spam texts to 7726 reports them to your carrier. The shortcode 7726 spells SPAM on a phone keypad, and all four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and US Cellular — participate in the program. How to do it: Open the spam text. Long-press the message bubble to bring up the share or forward option. Forward the message body to 7726. Your carrier will typically send an automated reply asking you to provide the number that sent the spam — you can copy it from your messages app and reply with it. Why this matters even when blocking: Blocking stops the texts from reaching you. Reporting to 7726 contributes to stopping the texts from reaching other people. A number reported by enough users on enough carriers is more likely to be flagged by carrier filtering systems before those texts reach consumers. <h2>Method 4: Register on the Do Not Call Registry</h2> The FTC's National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov) covers both phone calls and text messages from legitimate telemarketers. Registering your number tells companies conducting legal marketing campaigns that you have opted out of unsolicited contact. How to register: Go to donotcall.gov and enter your phone number. Registration is free and does not expire. Once registered, legitimate telemarketers are required by law to remove your number from their contact lists within 31 days. An important caveat: The Do Not Call Registry is effective against legitimate businesses conducting SMS marketing campaigns. It does not stop illegal scam texts. Fraud operators, by definition, are not following telemarketing laws, and they do not consult the registry. <h2>Method 5: Use Carrier Spam Filtering</h2> All four major U.S. carriers offer dedicated spam and call filtering tools with free tiers. These operate at the network level — before a message reaches your device. AT&T ActiveArmor: Available through the AT&T website and as a standalone app (iOS and Android). The free tier provides nuisance call blocking, spam risk notifications, and a fraud protection layer for incoming calls. Text message filtering is included in the basic free tier. T-Mobile Scam Shield: Included at no additional charge with T-Mobile service. Provides automatic Scam Likely labeling on incoming calls, free scam blocking, and a free tier of caller ID lookup. Incoming text protections are handled through T-Mobile's network-level filtering. Verizon Call Filter: The basic Call Filter app is free for Verizon postpaid customers and handles both calls and messages. It provides spam detection, the ability to block suspected spam automatically, and a spam filter that applies at the network level. <h2>Method 6: Look Up Unknown Numbers Before Engaging</h2> When you receive a text from a number you do not recognize, running it through <a href="/who-texted-me">Who Sent That Text Message</a> before replying gives you: <ul> <li>Spam report history — if other users have flagged that number for spam, scam activity, or unwanted marketing, those reports appear with descriptions and dates. See <a href="/features/spam-detection">How WSTTM Spam Detection Works</a>.</li> <li>Line type — VoIP numbers used by spam campaigns are identifiable by their carrier designation.</li> <li>Registered name — if the number belongs to a legitimate business, the business name may appear in CNAM records.</li> </ul> Looking up the number before engaging does not stop the text from arriving, but it stops you from inadvertently confirming your number as active to a spam operator. See also: <a href="/learn/unknown-number-texted-me-what-to-do">Unknown Number Texted Me: What to Do</a>. <h2>What NOT to Do</h2> Do not reply "STOP" to numbers you do not recognize. Replying STOP to a legitimate SMS marketing campaign you opted into is the correct way to unsubscribe. Replying STOP to a number you do not recognize confirms to the sender that your number is active and monitored by a real person. Do not click "Unsubscribe" links in suspected spam texts. The unsubscribe link in a spam text often does not unsubscribe you from anything. It may confirm your number as active, load a malicious web page, or install tracking code. Do not call back numbers from unsolicited texts that ask you to call. A prompt in a text message to call a phone number for more information is a common social engineering technique. Find the organization's phone number independently through their official website and call that number instead. <h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2> <details class="mb-4 border-b pb-4"><summary class="font-semibold cursor-pointer">Why am I suddenly getting so many spam texts?</summary>An uptick in spam texts often happens after your phone number appears in a data breach, is scraped from a public source (social media profiles, event registrations, online forms), or is sold as part of a marketing list. It can also happen when a bulk SMS campaign randomly generates and tests number sequences. There is no permanent opt-out from this kind of targeting, but the methods above reduce what actually reaches your notification area.</details> <details class="mb-4 border-b pb-4"><summary class="font-semibold cursor-pointer">Can I sue someone for sending me spam texts?</summary>Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), consumers have the right to pursue legal action against companies that send unsolicited automated or prerecorded text messages without prior express consent. Statutory damages are $500 per violation and up to $1,500 per willful violation. The practical challenge is identifying and serving the sender, which is straightforward for domestic marketing companies and significantly harder for international fraud operators.</details> <details class="mb-4 border-b pb-4"><summary class="font-semibold cursor-pointer">Does blocking a number stop all texts from that number?</summary>Blocking a specific number stops texts from that number from reaching your device. It does not prevent the same organization from sending texts from different numbers. Spam campaigns typically use large pools of numbers — blocking one number in a campaign has no effect on the others. This is why the combination of device-level blocking, carrier filtering, and reporting to 7726 is more effective than blocking alone.</details> <details class="mb-4 border-b pb-4"><summary class="font-semibold cursor-pointer">How do scammers get my phone number?</summary>Phone numbers reach spam lists through several routes: data breaches of companies that stored your number, scrapers that collect numbers from publicly available sources (social media, forums, public records), number generation software that sequentially tests number ranges, purchases from data brokers that aggregate personal information from multiple sources, and lists sold or stolen from legitimate businesses.</details>

How to Stop Spam Texts: 6 Methods That Work

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