Robo Text Messages, anyone?

rtk11

rtk11

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So... is this becoming a "thing" now?

I don't answer my cell phone unless I recognize the number because of the number of robocalls. My blocked number list is HUGE.

Now I'm seeing an increase in the number of uninvited text messages. Not only on my phone, my wife's phone and my 10 year old son's phone. And some of them are just inappropriate! While it's not as frequent as the robocall, I suspect that won't be the case for long.

I am even hesitant to text back "STOP" for fear that it'll tip-off that it's a live number, and my phone number will spread to other spam-bots.

Anyone else getting these text messages?
 
I've been getting the calls for a while. They are getting pretty sneaky now, using very friendly and lifelike voice recordings and using local phone numbers. My wife started getting texts this week. This crap is getting out of hand!
 
I've only gotten a few over the years, but when I was with AT&T it would really p!ss me off. I had to pay 20 cents for those unwanted texts. And AT&T wouldn't allow me to turn off text messaging.
 
I get the texts from time to time, and the calls ALL THE TIME, even though I am on the so called "Do not call list". The texts are much less common, but like you, I am hesitant to reply with any kind of response.
 
I got a robo voice mail after ... no, DURING the big a$$ hail storm the other night ... one ring, caller ID said UNKNOWN NUMBER, but the voice mail is tagged with a local number and the message says something to the effect that "I'm an A$$ HAT to spam your voicemailbox, but YOUR HOUSE JUST GOT CLOBBERED with HAIL! Call me RIGHT NOW so I can come out and inspect your roof and tarp it if it needs it!" ...
 
I get a few robo calls each day, but fortunately no text messages yet.
 
Anymouse said:
I've only gotten a few over the years, but when I was with AT&T it would really p!ss me off. I had to pay 20 cents for those unwanted texts. And AT&T wouldn't allow me to turn off text messaging.
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Ha! I was exactly the same as you. It would make me so mad. AT&T told me the same thing. Finally I told AT&T that they were going to turn off texting service or I was going to get a different cell service, and they did capitulate.
 
gkainz said:
I got a robo voice mail after ... no, DURING the big a$$ hail storm the other night ... one ring, caller ID said UNKNOWN NUMBER, but the voice mail is tagged with a local number and the message says something to the effect that "I'm an A$$ HAT to spam your voicemailbox, but YOUR HOUSE JUST GOT CLOBBERED with HAIL! Call me RIGHT NOW so I can come out and inspect your roof and tarp it if it needs it!" ...
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Hahaha. Ain't it grand that there's geocoded databases of both storm data and home address data, joined to phone number data? LOL. Yay RDBMS! ;-)

(Poking at you since you're a DBA. This is all your fault, you know! Hahahaha.)

Seriously though, that query is pretty impressive to be done that quick. :)

I figure in a few years if your phone notices you sitting on the John too long, you'll see laxative ads the rest of the day on every web page.

ROFLMAO. Literally!
 
denverpilot said:
Hahaha. Ain't it grand that there's geocoded databases of both storm data and home address data, joined to phone number data? LOL. Yay RDBMS! ;-)

(Poking at you since you're a DBA. This is all your fault, you know! Hahahaha.)

Seriously though, that query is pretty impressive to be done that quick. :)

I figure in a few years if your phone notices you sitting on the John too long, you'll see laxative ads the rest of the day on every web page.

ROFLMAO. Literally!
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Even worse ... matched to my cell phone, not home phone. "More Worser" :) yet, I build geo databases that are used, in part, to provide sales data feeds.
Something like "hoisted by one's own petard" seems somewhat apropriate.
 
gkainz said:
Even worse ... matched to my cell phone, not home phone. "More Worser" :) yet, I build geo databases that are used, in part, to provide sales data feeds.
Something like "hoisted by one's own petard" seems somewhat apropriate.
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No worries. Having been involved in hooking things to the NAPs and later to WorldCom and other backbones back in the day... at big data centers... that always felt like we were helping to build what became the modern internet.

And I have guilt pangs about that now pretty much daily after seeing what a cesspool stuff like FB became. LOL!

Yay! More Internet!!!

The last few years it's all been even worse... Let's just put all of this in "the cloud". Hahaha.

I'm pretty sure I'm helping mankind become stupider on some small level, judging by how it's all getting used!

The only sites and systems I help build anymore that don't seem dirty to me in some way, are non-profit club websites. Hahaha. Literally EVERYTHING else I do now, has some ties to either feeding the Google brain, or making Bezos more money.

I'm not sure either one is smart. But it pays the bills!
 
BTW: Whenever I feel guilty I just remember I was never involved with AOL. Hahahahaha. The hell that released on the world was probably the beginning of the fall. :)
 
rtk11 said:
So... is this becoming a "thing" now?

I don't answer my cell phone unless I recognize the number because of the number of robocalls. My blocked number list is HUGE.

Now I'm seeing an increase in the number of uninvited text messages. Not only on my phone, my wife's phone and my 10 year old son's phone. And some of them are just inappropriate! While it's not as frequent as the robocall, I suspect that won't be the case for long.

I am even hesitant to text back "STOP" for fear that it'll tip-off that it's a live number, and my phone number will spread to other spam-bots.

Anyone else getting these text messages?
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I used to get these every now and then but this was a couple years ago. I think it's been quite awhile since I got any. I think I did do the STOP thing and it seemed to work; either that or Verizon got some sort of spam filter for texts that I'm unaware of.
 
okay okay okay... I keep seeing this Robo Text thread. My old company user ID and long continuing nickname is Robo. I'm talking when I was 21 and wrote Rob O on MY flashlight and people called me Robo or RoboCop (current movie at the time)

I am not texting you! Well, yeah, I text a few of you. :)
 
Sadly, my call to Tmobile (who has been great) confirms that the text messages are random, it is a problem, and there's not much they can do about it. But I suppose therein lies an opportunity to create a Text Message Filter app. Hmmm... but somehow have to make an exception for Ravioli... or not. :p
 
denverpilot said:
BTW: Whenever I feel guilty I just remember I was never involved with AOL. Hahahahaha. The hell that released on the world was probably the beginning of the fall. :)
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Nope...it started when the Dodgers moved to LA. The next step was DARPA/ARPA allowed the unwashed masses on the Internet.

There's no going back.
 
Each time you get one of the spam calls, immediately call your Congressional representative, ask for the staffer that handles Telecommunications. Then give that person the spam phone number and demand that the Rep sponsor a bill to strengthen the Do Not Call list and/or crack down on this crap. This is the only way anything is going to happen.
 
murphey said:
Each time you get one of the spam calls, immediately call your Congressional representative, ask for the staffer that handles Telecommunications. Then give that person the spam phone number and demand that the Rep sponsor a bill to strengthen the Do Not Call list and/or crack down on this crap. This is the only way anything is going to happen.
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I have a feeling that sufficient funding for enforcement is the main thing missing.

There may be a need for legislation to add a "Do not Text" list as well, but it would still need to be enforced.
 
murphey said:
Each time you get one of the spam calls, immediately call your Congressional representative, ask for the staffer that handles Telecommunications. Then give that person the spam phone number and demand that the Rep sponsor a bill to strengthen the Do Not Call list and/or crack down on this crap. This is the only way anything is going to happen.
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Won't work. Many are originated overseas. Just like most of the worst malware. Law enforcement isn't going to cooperate or even be able to in catching anybody in Lower Slobovia. And Congress isn't going to fine the transport company (usually Global Crossing) who's fiber lands the call here.
 
The trick is to not answer. It's all automated, so when the algorithms figure out that nobody answers that number, they stop calling it. I only answer numbers that are in my contacts list. And after getting the call, I block it. Same with texts. It takes time, but eventually it reduces them to almost nothing. You can also set your phone not to ring for any number that isn't in your contracts list, if you really want to block them.
 
My phone will come up on a call with the ID showing the number, town and state and telling me Possible Spam. A few times I noticed a missed call. I checked it and my phone told me possible spam again.

I guess that last update gave me something good.
 
I got a sneaky not a robo call yesterday - caller ID showed a number from Mexico. Normally, I also don't answer calls that are not in my contact list, but ironically, we're heading south tomorrow for a vacation, and I just suspected it was something with the resort or travel plans, so I answered.
Heard a crying girl, who then said "Dad! I'm in trouble! Help!" in a very normal English accent.
I asked "Who is this?"
She said "It's me!"
I said "Me, who?"
She said "Angela"
I said "I'm sorry - you have a wrong number"
and "click ... she hung up".

So then I ponder that I've heard of these scams, but usually they do enough social media skimming to at least come up with one of your kid's names... but then I started wondering "what if it really WAS a wrong number and some poor girl is really in trouble?"

Then my wife got home and said she got a call on her cell (that she didn't answer) showing caller id from Mexico, and I confirmed the scam with a friend of mine in the Sheriff's office, so I felt better about it.

Then I kicked myself for not playing along a little ... :D
 
gkainz said:
I got a sneaky not a robo call yesterday - caller ID showed a number from Mexico. Normally, I also don't answer calls that are not in my contact list, but ironically, we're heading south tomorrow for a vacation, and I just suspected it was something with the resort or travel plans, so I answered.
Heard a crying girl, who then said "Dad! I'm in trouble! Help!" in a very normal English accent.
I asked "Who is this?"
She said "It's me!"
I said "Me, who?"
She said "Angela"
I said "I'm sorry - you have a wrong number"
and "click ... she hung up".

So then I ponder that I've heard of these scams, but usually they do enough social media skimming to at least come up with one of your kid's names... but then I started wondering "what if it really WAS a wrong number and some poor girl is really in trouble?"

Then my wife got home and said she got a call on her cell (that she didn't answer) showing caller id from Mexico, and I confirmed the scam with a friend of mine in the Sheriff's office, so I felt better about it.

Then I kicked myself for not playing along a little ... :D
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I would think that even a child who was upset and crying would recognize her father's voice.
 
I think I first realized that online and phone scams were going to get crazy a number of years ago when friends hosted an exchange student from a former Soviet BLOC country.

They asked her what she was planning after graduation and she said with no thought that it was odd at all, that the local scammer call center was "good money" and paid in cash in her home country. She said she liked the flexible work schedule too. LOL.
 
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