Spam texts are getting more sophisticated

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
So, I mentioned in a thread sometime back that I've been receiving random texts that say something along the lines of "How are you enjoying Texas?", "How are you doing today?", etc. with no name attached. These are not pretending to be businesses. They are pretending to be someone I know. I immediately report them as spam and delete them.

Today I received a text that said "Are we still going skiing?" and it identified as "Sandy" and someone who is in my contacts. I only know one Sandy, who is a neighbor, and she doesn't ski. This "Sandy" is not in my contacts, but yet it identified as if she were. Again, I deleted it and reported it as spam.

I don't know what the endgame is for these texts. I'm not stupid, but it seems the spammers are become more sophisticated. Has anyone else seen this?
 

I have been getting SPAM messages on my phone, at least 5 per day saying I have won $400.00 up to $4,000.00 last night, and
I just have to click on an IP address, but I click on DELETE every time. They won't beat me; they'll get more tired sending before I do.
 

I get all kinds of spam texts as well as emails. The texts are from Medicare companies. I also get weird messages from those I don't know. I just delete them all.

They can get annoying. I also get group texts from where I don't know but they include about 10 other people I don't know. All I really can do with those are delete because my phone doesn't have a way of blocking all of them.
 
they are downloading and copying the person you know's profile picture and name and then sending you a message as if from them.

I've had a couple of them - start with something vague and generic like How are you? and lead into Some great business opportunity Ive discovered! or suchlike - I guess some people get conned because think they are legitimate because they think they come from someone they know and trust.
 
As I was writing here another SPAM message came to me saying, "JoyClub, an amount of $4000 has been deposited into your. They never finish a sentence and end with Enjoy gaming or with a site address. (I love deleting) but this goes on until the early hours of the morning) but with different names.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I’ve started receiving texts from Amazon job recruiters with employment opportunities.

When I click to check the source it shows a dozen different sources, I’ve never seen that before.

I report it and block it as I delete it.
Click to expand...

I got something similar where they stated they saw my job profile on Reddit. I don’t have a job profile, nor do I belong to Reddit.

My standard nightly “ you have been approved”. Phone call came again last night. They come anywhere between seven and 8:30. This time I’m up to $57,000 for a loan. All I have to do this time, instead of clicking a link, is call an 866 number. I’ll be sure to jump right on that just as soon as I block this number, but it doesn’t matter how many times you block a number they come up with a new one.

It is getting so bad that I don’t even trust when something really is from a legitimate company and they wonder why I don’t answer them, so I tell them.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I’ve started receiving texts from Amazon job recruiters with employment opportunities.

When I click to check the source it shows a dozen different sources, I’ve never seen that before.

I report it and block it as I delete it.
Click to expand...
Huh, I never thought to check that. I just deleted them automatically. I'm going to have to look next time I get one.
 
Imogene said:
I got something similar where they stated they saw my job profile on Reddit. I don’t have a job profile, nor do I belong to Reddit.

My standard nightly “ you have been approved”. Phone call came again last night. They come anywhere between seven and 8:30. This time I’m up to $57,000 for a loan. All I have to do this time, instead of clicking a link, is call an 866 number. I’ll be sure to jump right on that just as soon as I block this number, but it doesn’t matter how many times you block a number they come up with a new one.

It is getting so bad that I don’t even trust when something really is from a legitimate company and they wonder why I don’t answer them, so I tell them.
Click to expand...
The other day I laughed. And then thought to myself how stupid.

The comment was report these spam messages, calls, to the Do Not Call registry. Did that person not realize how much time we'd spend reporting these calls?

I did that for a while when they were dumping straight to my VM. Now my phone provider is doing a much better job of blocking these calls, now if they could just stop the texts.
 
seadoug said:
So, I mentioned in a thread sometime back that I've been receiving random texts that say something along the lines of "How are you enjoying Texas?", "How are you doing today?", etc. with no name attached. These are not pretending to be businesses. They are pretending to be someone I know. I immediately report them as spam and delete them.
I don't know what the endgame is for these texts. I'm not stupid, but it seems the spammers are become more sophisticated. Has anyone else seen this?
Click to expand...
I’ve received several of these messages, often accompanied by texts proclaiming that I’ve “won” something—typically a tool kit—or that I’ve been “selected” to receive some sort of gift. I delete those without hesitation, never bothering to open them. The others, as you noted, are crafted to momentarily capture my attention, and for a few seconds they succeed, but they too end up in the trash. I suspect this trend will only intensify as AI tightens its grip on marketing strategies. The prospect of these techniques advancing in their duplicity is hardly welcome.
 
MarciKS said:
I have been getting spam emails that if I don't pay my cloud plus bill they will shut it down and I will lose all my files and pictures. I don't have a cloud account anywhere online. Lmao
Click to expand...
I forgot about those. At one point I was receiving at least two a week, though they’ve tapered off lately. Like you, I steer clear of cloud accounts—I already have enough trouble sleeping without adding the worry of hackers prowling around in the digital clouds.
 
seadoug said:
So, I mentioned in a thread sometime back that I've been receiving random texts that say something along the lines of "How are you enjoying Texas?", "How are you doing today?", etc. with no name attached. These are not pretending to be businesses. They are pretending to be someone I know. I immediately report them as spam and delete them.

Today I received a text that said "Are we still going skiing?" and it identified as "Sandy" and someone who is in my contacts. I only know one Sandy, who is a neighbor, and she doesn't ski. This "Sandy" is not in my contacts, but yet it identified as if she were. Again, I deleted it and reported it as spam.

I don't know what the endgame is for these texts. I'm not stupid, but it seems the spammers are become more sophisticated. Has anyone else seen this?
Click to expand...
Those are the start of pig butchering scams. What is Pig Butchering and How to Spot the Scam - National Cybersecurity Alliance

This sort of thing often starts off with the type of "accidental text" you mentioned, @seadoug. I've gotten some myself. I, too, block and delete.

  • "Accidental" contact: Scammers often pretend they contacted the potential victim by mistake. While contact can occur through texts, it can also happen through social media DMs, dating sites, or other electronic communications.
 

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