Forward the spam text to 7726

The same kind of text keeps arriving — a parcel you did not order, a prize, a problem with an account you do not have. You delete it, it comes back from a different number next week, and it starts to feel like there is nothing to do but put up with it.

When a spam text arrives, forward it to 7726 before you delete it, and never reply to it or open its link.

How it works

Many people give the same method, and it is the one the US Federal Trade Commission gives too: copy the message and forward it to 7726, which spells S-P-A-M on a phone keypad, so your wireless network can spot and block similar messages. On most phones you press and hold the message and choose forward; some people describe exactly that on Android. The exact steps vary by phone, and instructions for every model are not covered here.

Expect a reply. Some people say the network’s automatic system usually answers asking for the number the text came from, and one person explains why: forwarding on some phones copies only the words into a new message, not the sender, so the network cannot see who sent it unless you tell it. Copy the number from the original message and send it in reply. The UK’s cyber-security agency describes the same order — note the sender’s number, forward the message, and your provider investigates.

Do the phone’s own report too. Some people argued whether your messaging app’s report-junk button reaches your network at all, or only the company that makes the phone; what decides it is the phone. The FTC answers that by listing both: forward to 7726, and report it in your messaging app. It also takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Some people add that some networks let you manage spam blocking from your online account with them.

What reporting does, and what it does not

This is the honest part, because the question asked here was whether it actually stops the texts. Some people say forwarding may not stop a spammer who keeps switching to new numbers or throwaway addresses, and one person warns that whether it helps is something you will judge for yourself. The answer some people gave is that the point is the pattern, not the one sender: each report adds to what the network and the regulators can see and block. Others add detail. One person says reports reduced their spam over time, one that it stopped for a long stretch, one that networks have their own reason to cut unwanted ads, one that they employ staff to investigate reported numbers, and one that it only works if enough people do it — the same person says some people get a confirmation back from their network. How long a network takes to act, and what happens to a report once it arrives, is not covered here.

Some people raise a suspicion worth naming: that their number was sold after they switched networks, which made reporting back to that network feel pointless. It stayed a suspicion; the evidence that would settle it was not there.

Three things to avoid

Do not reply, not even STOP to a stranger — the first question below says why, and when STOP is the right answer. Do not open the link — the second question covers what to do if you already did. And do not call the number back: some people say calling spammers back tends to bring harassment or threats, and the number shown may be faked anyway.

The texts this will not stop

Political messages and charity appeals are a different case. Some people say they are generally outside the Do Not Call rules, and the FTC’s own list of calls the registry does not cover starts with political and charitable ones. People who were asked whether 7726 stops the “go vote” texts said no, and in one exchange one person claimed these texts are illegal under the federal telephone law while three answered — the better-supported side here — that texts sent by hand by volunteers are allowed where autodialled ones are not. Some people warn networks do not filter political texts whatever you report. So for those, reporting is unlikely to help.

On the Do Not Call registry itself, one person says signing up does not stop calls straight away and mainly creates a record for a legal complaint later, and one caution says unwanted callers often ignore it. For unwanted calls rather than texts, this site’s page on letting unknown numbers ring out is the better fit.

If you want to go further

Some people say a complaint to the US Federal Communications Commission is the next step for spam that reporting does not stop; some people said the form is tedious to fill in for every number, and the answer they got was a link to the online version. One person suggests telling the company that registered a scam site’s web address about it, which can take the site down.

Some people go further and sue under the federal telephone consumer law. One person names a large settlement by a bank; another says a claim can settle in a few hours of work for thousands of dollars, and one that the law gives you rights but you have to bring the case yourself. Against that, one person warns finding out who actually sent a spam text is somewhere between difficult and impossible, and one person says going to court over a single message is not worth anyone’s time. How to bring such a claim, and what it costs, is not covered here.

Outside the United States

In the UK, forwarding to 7726 is the route too: the National Cyber Security Centre says most phone providers are part of a scheme that lets you report a suspicious text free by forwarding it there, and one person says to include the number it came from. One person points out one UK network charged for texts to 7726 and used a different free number instead; that could not be checked for this page, so if your network’s help page gives a different number, use it. If you lost money to a scam text, report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.

Elsewhere the code is not universal. Some people say 7726 works in more than one country, and others say it varies by network; people disagree about whether it works in Canada, one person says Australia uses a different number that goes to its communications regulator, and one person says it does not work in Sweden. Check your own network’s help page or your country’s telecoms regulator before you rely on it.