Stopping Spam Text Messages
capt223
Enthusiast - Level 1

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.)

 

Labels (1)
Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
spottedcatfish
Champion - Level 3

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.

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Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
August03
Contributor - Level 3

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

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Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
RacerX9
Enthusiast - Level 1

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.

Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
spottedcatfish
Champion - Level 3

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.

View solution in original post

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Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
SuzyQ
Community Leader
Community Leader

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. 

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Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
HARDYHARHAR
Enthusiast - Level 2

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

 

 

 

Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
DionM_VZW
Verizon Employee

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! 

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Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
Nfeschet
Enthusiast - Level 1

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. 

Re: Stopping Spam Text Messages
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

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

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