Community on edge after receiving offensive, racist text messages

OHIO – The FBI is investigating a series of offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals across the country.

One of the people who received these messages is Ian Smith, who said he received them while doing his homework in his school’s computer lab.

“It’s just like, oh, this is a joke, but you all feel comfortable enough to say this joke,” Smith said. “That’s a problem. That’s the disturbing part.”

In a screenshot that Smith shared with News 5, the message told Smith that he had been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation and to be ready with his belongings promptly at noon on November 13.

The message further told Smith that executive slaves would come for him in a brown van and that he would be prepared to be searched as soon as he entered the plantation.

“It didn’t really seem disturbing to me until I kept looking at it. I’m like, ‘Oh okay. Am I the only one who has this or like, is this real?’ Smith asked.

Questions Larezia Wilson said she also asked herself when she received a similar message on her phone.

“At first I thought it was real. I started to feel a little scared and thought, ‘Should I go to a plantation or is this a joke?’” Wilson asked.

Eventually, Wilson said she realized it was a joke.

“But you know what, it’s still not funny to this day. For example, why do people play at such a time as this?’ Wilson asked.

In this case of a more targeted attack, cybersecurity expert Alex Hamerstone believes that Smith and Wilson could have been victims if the person or entity masquerading or disguising themselves may have been investigating their information or linking them to certain racial groups or organizations where a contact list could have been stolen.

“It’s one thing to, you know, be whatever you call it, be a jerk, or be a terrible person and put your name behind it. But it’s another thing to hide behind a cloak of anonymity to harass people,” said Alex Hamerstone, director of TrustedSec Advisory Solution.

Hamerstone does not believe the message was generated by artificial intelligence. But he and Tim Dimoff, an expert on national law enforcement procedures and security, said they wouldn’t rule it out.

“They use artificial intelligence, or they manually search the Internet for people who have sent recent messages and identify their profile and that’s what they’re focusing on,” Dimoff said.

“All we have to do is protect each other,” Smith said. “That’s the only thing we can do at this point.”

The FBI is in contact with the Department of Justice and other federal authorities about this.