My own phone number is now spam texting me

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

I received a text this morning that said it was a gift for paying my phone bill. Normally, I would groan, roll my eyes, and quickly remove such a message, but this time I was surprised that it was spoofed as coming from my own phone number. It was a legitimate message from me to myself, but my phone couldn't tell. Clicking into the details took me to my own card.

I didn't have an obvious way of reporting the spoof to my carrier. A lot of people face a lot of spoofed calls and texts, and most of them are from the same number. This was the first time I got something from my own number. These people are getting more sophisticated.

I was not alone. Several employees of other carriers have also encountered the same thing, as well as more than a few customers on the same carrier. I have gotten a lot of responses after I posted a story about it. There is something more disconcerting and intrusive about it being linked to your own number when you receive a message from someone pretending to be you. The call is coming from inside the house.

This is all spoofing and technological impersonation and the main reaction is confusion. It's easy for them to camouflage as any number they choose. My account is safe and my number is not being used. There is no cause for panic if you have gotten the same message. Don't click that link.

It feels like the phone carriers are losing the fight against scam artists. I don't envy having to contend with the amount of attacks that come across their networks daily, but this is getting out of hand. Over the last few weeks, I've noticed an increase in general text messages. Alex Lanstein noted that this particular message contains several phrases. It came through successfully. The text was able to evade Apple's feature that filters unknown messages.

What can be done? In addition to offering various measures of spam protection, many US carriers encourage customers to forward text messages to other people. Some people might be hesitant about reporting their own number. I've inquired about what happens in that situation.

Related

How to stop annoying robocalls on your iPhone or Android phone

You can always file a complaint with the FCC if you're really annoyed by the calls or texts you receive.

All you can do is wait for the next scam tactic that seems like it shouldn't even be possible and then get rid of the texts. Damn you, scam artists. Do better.