Non-commercial messages, such as fundraising messages or political surveys.There are exceptions to this law including: Unsolicited text messages also cannot be sent using an autodialer without the consumer’s consent. The TCPA makes it illegal for a company to transmit unsolicited commercial messages, both phone calls and text messages, to wireless devices unless the sender first gets the permission of the recipient. Victims may be able to collect between $500 and $1,500 per violation. Victims of harassing spam text messages may be able to hire an attorney and pursue litigation against these solicitors in order to stop the spam messages, as well as pursue compensation. These rules include not contacting consumers without obtaining their explicit prior consent, maintaining company-specific do-not-call lists and abiding by them, abiding by the National Do Not Call List, and allowing consumers to opt out of being contacted.Ĭompanies and spammers who do not abide by the rules of the TCPA may be subject to fines and other legal action. Under the terms of the TCPA, solicitors and telemarketers are subject to a variety of rules meant to protect consumers’ privacy. In 2012, the FCC updated the TCPA to reflect new technology. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was established by Congress in 1991 to protect consumers from being harassed by spam calls. However, attempting to opt out may only identify you as a target for future spamming. Many spam texts will include an option for the consumer to opt out of receiving future messages, usually by replying “STOP” to the spam text. Scammers often use spam texting as a way to determine whether a real human is attached to a phone number. Legitimate companies may send TCPA compliant text messaging as a way to advertise goods, services, or sales, but similar messages may also be sent by scammers and telemarketers. The more insidious messages may encourage you to reveal sensitive personal information.Īccording to USA Today, while some consumers may receive spam messages after signing up for an account at a retail store or including their phone number on an online form, others are simply chosen at random by an auto-dialing or auto-texting service. Texts sent for marketing purposes can waste your time and attention, too. These messages hog your phone’s electronic resources and may lead to increased charges from your cell service provider. It includes commercial and autodialed messages from realtors that don’t already have a business relationship with you. Many companies and scammers use spam messages to target and advertise to hundreds of consumers at once.Īccording to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), text message spam is the cell phone equivalent of spam email. What Defines Text Message Spam?ĭue to the invention of new technology that allows solicitors to send pre-written text messages to hundreds or thousands of consumers at a time, spam text messages are becoming a commonplace annoyance. A Florida realtor may be in violation of the TCPA if it uses certain automated equipment to send text messages to people who have not given prior express consent to receive such messages. Under the right circumstances, the recipient of an unsolicited marketing text message can sue the sender under a federal law known as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA. Many are now wondering: what can you do about unwanted text messages? These messages usually contain information regarding advertising, coupons, or special offers for services or goods provided by the company sending the message. ![]() ![]() As explained on the Tekpip site, this number works for Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile.Florida consumers report that local realtors are bombarding them with promotional text messages that they never consented to receive.Īpproximately 4.5 billion spam text messages are sent to consumers every year in the United States. After that, you have to choose Forward and text the message to 7726. If you use Android, you can report it by pressing down on the message and then tap the three-dot icon which can be found at the top. If you use an iPhone, you can press down on the message and then tap More and tap the right arrow to forward it as a new text. At last, you must tap Block Contact.ĭo you use an American service provider? If so, you are able to report the text by forwarding them to a specific number. After that, you have to tap the Info button and choose Block This Caller when the info page shows. If you use an iPhone, you can block the number by opening the text message that you received and then tap the phone number at the top of the screen. After that, you have to choose the Block Number option. If you use Android, you can do that by opening the text and then tapping the three-dot icon which can be found in the upper right. You are able to block the phone numbers which send you the dirty messages.
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