I Do Not Like Spam

I'm not just talking about SPAM in a can. I'm talking about spam on my cell phone.

Over the last two weeks, I have started receiving text messages that are spammy.

Subject: Congratulations You've been awarded 418,000 British Pounds by Telefonica O2. Send an email to 4882@o2.co.uk for claims -- b-------.b-------@drake.edu

Do you need some money this week? Just go to WWW.FAST1CASH.COM - Takes only 3  minutes to apply, get up to $1500 today! Text STOP to unsubscribe. -- (202) 257-2655.

I posted something on Twitter about these messages, which sent the message to Facebook and I learned I'm not alone. So, instead of just whining about it, I decided to figure out how to put a stop to this. I learned a few things from the FCC.

1. Just entering my cell phone number on the "do not call" registry is not enough to keep me from getting these unwanted texts.
2. The FCC does ban the messages that include a web address (like the first message I posted).
3. The message is allowed if it provides the option to unsubscribe (like the second message).

So the first one is not allowed. The second one is kind of allowed because it is letting me opt out (annoying since I never opted in).

I also found this, which offers step-by-step instructions on how to block spammy texts. I'm hoping that my taking these steps I can stop these annoying messages. If not, I will just continue shouting expletives at my phone, then deleting the messages. It's also possible that these messages that come with email addresses will be signed up for offers on some sites that are known to send lots of emails (because I believe the best way to respond to jerks is to try to out-jerk them).

Update: I received a comment from a guy claiming to be the Brandon named in the email for the Telefonica scam. So, hoping it really is him, I removed the address from this post.