There's a fair amount of advice on this, all of it no doubt good. There's a particular webpage that resonated well with me:

https://www.komando.com/columns/394001/ ... your-phone

In it, for blocking the unwanted numbers the the advice for Android users is: "On Android, you can do the same thing, except instead of an “i” [iPhone, top right] it’s the three vertical dots. Then select People & Options >> Block."

Unfortunately this advice doesn't apply for me as my selections don't include People & Options. Anyone know another way to accomplish this?

TIA.

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"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

On my Galaxy, I open the phone app -> recent calls -> three dots -> settings. The block call feature is close to the top.

Thank you! That's the ticket, all right. I can't use it directly, as Recent Calls on my phone only registers actual voicetime sessions, voicemail, and other such attempts within the auditory realm - not numbers from texting incidents - so I'd have to use pen and paper to retain the number for entry, but I can still go by this route all the same.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

I distinctly remember being able to block directly via the text interface in the past, but it seems to have disappeared in one of the updates. The last couple times I have also had to do the pen and paper thing.

if I remember correctly, I can also add to and view the blocked list on my computer via my Verizon account page.

It was today, for the very first time ever, that I received spam texts, so I had no knowledge of how it's done, now or before. I appreciate the help very much.

They were two identical texts from very different area codes. I had no idea that I had become such a romantic commodity all of a sudden. Although I would say "romantic" is a bit refined, considering the graphic content.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

That's very useful. Thanks.

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"Only connect!"

Ooh! I've never had one of those on my phone. Plenty in email, but not text or direct to the phone.

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"Only connect!"

Behold the march of progress.

For any of you also having to deal with this, I would further recommend that you report the spam number as well. It's the responsible thing to do. Simply keep your finger pressed on the text, and a selection of options will show. Pick Forward, type in 7726, and send. 7726 also reads as "spam". On my phone the numbers and letters don't appear interchangeable that way, so I don't know how flexible this is, but if you can't remember the number, then texting "spam" may suffice. But I have yet to confirm this. And I can only be sure that this reporting system works in the US; don't know if or how it applies elsewhere.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

My last text spam was from my "bank". My real bank has never sent me a text. The message contained a picture/logo to make it look official, a phone number, and a link to a dodgy website.

I have no idea how they knew my bank or got my phone number. Maybe they are just casting a wide net and it was pure coincidence. Either way, I feel that this goes quite beyond 'normal' spam.

Some of these folks are a lot more hands-on and detail-oriented than your average spammer. Every now and then when vetting new C&F members, we find spammers who went to a lot of trouble to seem legitimate. Some of it's pretty impressive, but so far there's always some sort of dead giveaway in there somewhere. We don't see these more resourceful cases very often, though.

But as you say, it could just be a lucky catch from a wide net. I'd operate on the assumption it wasn't though, just to be on the safe side. Reporting it will go a long way in the States, as the FCC is keen to nab these people.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

And as if that weren't enough...

Just now got a call from 800-331-0500, a robocall saying my phone account had been suspended. Only I'm not with the company they claimed to be, and I'd paid my bill, so this made it easy for me to tell that the call was bogus. Others may not be so lucky. They tell you to push this or that number for this or that purpose, but I hung up. Just checked this phone number on the Web, and sure enough, it's been pulling this stuff aplenty, and at least under AT&T's and Verizon's names. Make note of this number, and don't play along, folks. One curious person went just far enough to be asked for their Social Security number, but then prudently got out of there. I wouldn't even go so far as that.

I can block the number, but I can't report it via phone.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

It seems that once one of them get a phone number, it gets spread around to a lot of different scammers. Or maybe the scammers who get the number operate multiple enterprises. Most of the time when I have received spam, I have received several more in a few days from other sources. Oddly enough, reporting the first one as spam doesn't do much, but after a few spam reports it seems to stop for awhile.

That tells me the phone company is doing something about it, but it still feels a bit weak. I can see what [free] gmail catches as spam, 'twould be nice to know what our phone companies are doing for their hefty monthly fee.

My Android phone has two SMS text apps. For the "Messaging" app, select the conversation, touch the three dots and select "blacklist". The "Android Messages" app claims you can block senders from the app's home screen: touch and hold on the conversation and select "block"; that doesn't work on my phone.

Mine doesn't have blacklist, but it has 'mute conversation'. Whatever that means.

Muting's for when there's someone who won't stop texting you, and you'd read them but you have other things that require your attention. When muted, that sender's texts are hidden and you're not distracted by being notified every time they send yet another damned text. Unlike a blacklist, the messages are still sent, though, so you can unmute and read them later on.

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"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano