Most of us receive a few spam messages from time to time. Some of us get even more. It can be overwhelming, annoying, and sometimes even dangerous when a spam text leads to falling for scams. We’ll help you avoid that.

The Difference Between Scam and Spam 

While this article focuses on avoiding scam texts, it’s important to understand the difference between a “spam” text and a “scam” text. Scam texts are likely a form of spam, but spam doesn’t always denote a scam. 

Where does spam come from?

Before going further, it’s important to realize where spam texts come from. In almost every case, you’re being contacted via a large database of miscellaneous marketing info which has been compiled over time and then sold to advertisers.

This data is gathered and collected bit by bit, typically from online forms, contests or sweepstakes, as well as seemingly innocuous things like social media quizzes or interest polls. Online games, especially free ones, and many mobile apps are also the culprits here. 

In other words, the more times you have given out any of your personal information online, the higher chance you have of finding yourself on one of these lists. In turn, advertisers and marketing affiliates will promote just about any product under the sun by utilizing these lists of marketing data.

The good news is that while it’s annoying, it’s extremely rare that any of these lists contain more than basic information about you, things like:

• Name
• Phone number
• email

Sometimes the lists could have a little more information about you as well, details such as:

• Age
• Gender
• Nationality

So, as you can start to see, just because you are getting these spam messages does not automatically mean that any serious information is compromised (such as your SSN), and is more than likely due to your information being available inside marketing databases.

How do I get rid of spam?

Getting rid of spam entirely is an uphill battle, and the only way to truly be rid of it is to have no online presence, never give out your number, don’t use social media, etc.

Of course, this is impractical for most people, but luckily there are some strategies that you can do to limit the amount of spam messages you’re getting. Here are a few of the most popular and effective solutions:

• Enable spam detection and filtering on your email and phone.
• Enroll in an online data removal service.
• Register your number with the Do Not Call Registry.
• Stop responding to or answering calls, texts, and emails from sources you don’t recognize.
• Flag or report these types of calls & messages as spam

Avoiding Scam Texts

As above, scams will often show up in the form of text messages. These will utilize things like scare tactics, pressure, and shock value in order to try and trick you into giving away your money, personal information, or access to your accounts. The good news is that these situations are completely avoidable!

How to spot scams

Pay attention to the telltale signs listed above, but the big key is to never click on anything you don’t recognize, and be especially wary of links in texts. It’s so hard to vet anything on a tiny phone screen, and add that to the fact that links can be masked, it’s not enough to think “Oh, this link looks legitimate, guess I better click on it.”

So, don’t click on the links, great. Now what?

If you get a message claiming it’s from a company, service, or something else, and then it tries to use urgent language to get you to click a link: ignore it! 

What to do with scam messages

So once you’ve decided a message is a scam—or might be a scam—what do you do with it? Here are some things you can do when you have a message that might be spam:

• Don’t click on it! We’ve already said this but it bears repeating.
• Look into it. If it’s posing as a business, look that business up and consider contacting them directly.
• If it’s claiming to be from a service you have (bank, phone provider, software company), you should reach out to that service directly.
• Report or mark the message as a scam
• Block the number
• Ensure your phone’s automatic scam detection settings are enabled

Worried About Falling for Scams? iDefend Can Help!

Fortunately, iDefend members enjoy access to an expert support team who are always happy to help you look at and review suspicious messages, help you adjust your antivirus and detection settings, and even recover from scams or cleaning up your devices if they get infected.

Learn more and get protected today! Try iDefend risk free. Remember, you can always contact our team for deals, offers, and discounts.