Today (03/22/11) I got another unsolicited text message to my Verizon IPhone.
The message was from phone number “(786) 353-4199” and included the following text: +14242647221 – Need a quick and easy payday loan up to $1500? Visit
www.iamastupidmarketor.com for INSTANT approval, get money in minutes!(2optout rply stop)
Note – I changed the URL so that you don’t end up supporting them with even a single click thru.
I called the 786 phone number and then the 424 phone number. They both rang directly into the same voice mail greeting (unanswered) and the mail box was “full”.
This was exactly as I expected. They did not want to talk to anyone or solicit via the telephone. They want me to click on the URL which I refuse to do.
I did not reply back with “Stop” as instructed if I want to optout, because I am not sure of the result that will create. Will they honestly opt me out, or will this just validate my phone number for future text messages from other hidden and secretive organizations who want to Spam my cell phone with waste of time text messages.
I decided to try to find a way to block them without contacting them.
Verizon Wireless has a way to do this for any phone except the IPhone.
What’s up with this – The IPhone is the only real smart phone that Verizon has, in my humble opinion.
Non IPhone users can go to MyServices once you login to your account on the Verizon Wireless website and block unwanted calls & text messages from specific phone numbers.
Again – Except for the IPhone.
I talked with a very nice lady named Tammy in Technical support. She was very aware of what I was asking, but had no solution to the problem.
Here are the two options she offered for blocking unwanted Text Messages:
1 – Reply back to the text with STOP and hope they adhere to the rules of OptOut. I did this just to see what would happen.
2 – Disable Text Messaging on my phone. And we all know I am not going to do this – I need my text messaging. While I wrote this blog I got 3 text messages that I am glad to receive.
Anyway – Let’s see if the reply of STOP will work. Hopefully it will.
Otherwise I may have to revert back to faxes and the US Postal Service.
Teddy
Update – as of 3/1/2012 I have not had any new SPAM text messages to my Iphone on Verizon. All looks good now.
Teddy Burriss 