Please help--Someone is spamming me with repeated texts linking porn

[Harriet Vane]

Please help me stop this. 

I have been receiving multiple group texts containing links to porn. I have never clicked on or opened any link. Each group text is sent to a group of twenty. None of the numbers in the group are any of my personal contacts.

It's possible this is random spamming. It's also possible it is malicious from someone I know who is struggling mentally/emotionally. There is no way to confront this person. If I am wrong in my suspicions, asking the person I suspect about this will create irretrievable damage. If I am correct in my suspicions, any conversation on this point will simply fan the flame.

I blocked all the callers and deleted the first text.

As more texts come, 19 of the numbers in the group are numbers I blocked. The twentieth number is new. I then block that new number.

I have been getting these daily for a while, sometimes more than once a day. I find it upsetting and wearisome.

Is there anything else I can do to make this stop?

[alisoncooks]

I get junk texts like this occasionally (at least weekly). Other than blocking the number, idk what else to do. It's super annoying. 

[Resilient]

Contact your carrier to see if they can help.  Idk but that’s what I would do for starters.    
 

I hate this for you.  

[Spryte]

Oh yuck.  

I only know to keep blocking numbers, but I wonder if it’s possible to block any group text that contains one of your blocked numbers?  If that makes sense. Maybe make a phone call and ask a (gasp) real live person if there’s a way to do that.

What a frustrating situation.

[desertflower]

oh I was in the same position about a month ago. They stopped after about 2 weeks or so. I almost called my carrier. 

It was weird. It looked like the original text was from an email, so I couldn't block that. 

I was getting pics of porn too. 😱😬

I would block the individual numbers if I can as well. Nothing seemed to work. 

My husband said whatever I do, don't reply. He was hoping it was a bot I guess. 

I hear google messaging can do a better job at blocking. But by the time my husband tried this out, the texts stopped. 

I do believe your carrier can do something. 

[Farrar]

Supposedly not opening them at all and just swiping them to delete unopened can help, but if you don't open it, you can't go block the number so... I don't know.

I only get them once in awhile. Maybe a couple one week, then none and then a couple more. They have been increasing over the last few months. I think they have been for everyone.

[Catwoman]

Ugh!!! I don’t have any advice for you, but I’m so sorry this is happening to you. When I have gotten texts like that, it felt so creepy — and I have only ever gotten a few of them.

I hope there is something you can do to stop them!

[J-rap]

Yuck.  I've been getting one maybe every other week.  (Starting just a couple months ago.)  They always look a little fishy, so I've never clicked on the link, but I assume that's what it is.  I block and delete.  

Perhaps you can check with your carrier to see if there's an app that filters them?

[PeterPan]

As a temporary stop, you could see if you can set your phone to only allow texts from known contacts. 

[Ausmumof3]

Ugh how frustrating.  I haven’t had that but recently had virus spam appear in my calendar because anyone can send you an event request and your iPhone will add it automatically.  Thankfully I didn’t open it but it’s annoying. Phones have felt so safe from this stuff compared to PCs but they seem to be having more issues all the time.

[popmom]

Wow. I’ve gotten a few spam texts, but never porn. I wish I had some words of wisdom. I’m just following because...
 

my kids. That’s all I can think about. How frightening that this can happen to anyone.

Edited May 23, 2021 by popmom

[Ditto]

Gross.   Given that many kids have cell phones it is even more disturbing that it could happen to them.   Contact your carrier.  I also wonder if you could get some help from the non-emergency police line.

[Lecka]

My husband told me to reply “stop” and then I will get a message saying I was removed from a list or something.

Then I will still get texts from obviously the same list.  They think my name is Kenneth.  
 

I can’t tell if “stop” has helped a lot, but it does not seem to have made it worse.  It tends to be a little random.  

[Lecka]

I have also heard that there are screening apps, but I don’t know much about them.  A younger-than-me person uses an app 😉

[Farrar]

3 hours ago, Lecka said:

My husband told me to reply “stop” and then I will get a message saying I was removed from a list or something.

Then I will still get texts from obviously the same list.  They think my name is Kenneth.  
 

I can’t tell if “stop” has helped a lot, but it does not seem to have made it worse.  It tends to be a little random.  

So, I really hate when people do this because they often reply to the entire group, which means it pops back up on my phone too. So I guess... if you take this tactic, be sure that you're not replying to everyone.

[Lecka]

I am pretty sure it’s not going to a group like that.  It seems like I’m on a list but not one where I am part of a group message.  Most of the messages are personalized, too — they think I am Kenneth and I live in Ohio, some even mention a specific street address, somewhere in Ohio.