Are you bombarded with spam? A little-known iPhone hack can stop unwanted messages

Americans are being inundated with spam messages posing as acquaintances, job opportunities, and even government officials.

Many iPhone users have expressed frustration with unwanted messages, with some claiming to have received more than 400 this month alone.

While users can reply “Stop” to remove themselves from the list, Apple has a little-known hack to prevent unknown senders from texting them directly.

Users can filter messages into another folder, meaning they won’t receive a notification when the text arrives.

“Scammers send fake text messages to trick you into giving them personal information, such as your password, bank account number or Social Security number,” the Federal Trade Commission said.

“If they get this information, they could gain access to your email, bank account or other accounts. They could also sell your information to other scammers.”

Apple already has a system in place for such moments – and it’s located in Settings.

Users go to Settings, then select Messages and scroll down to Message Filtering where you can enable “Filter Unknown Senders.”

Once enabled, the “Filters” option will appear in iMessage at the top left where all unwanted text messages will be sent – ​​and users will not receive a notification when they arrive.

Another option is to block the sender of the text message, but the individual or bot may be spamming you from a different number.

While many spam messages attempt to trick Americans into giving up their information or money, many political messages urge them to vote and choose a side.

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One X user wrote: “I’m afraid I’ll look back from my deathbed and regret the time I spent typing ‘stop’ on political text messages.”

The flood of messages is likely due to the Supreme Court relaxing requirements in 2021 for obtaining permission to send bulk text messages, Axios reported.

Data showed that in 2020, the Republican National Convention sent more than 225 million text messages to urge voters to go to the polls.

“Texting is an important tool, but of course, like many people, I get frustrated with the number of messages I get and how often I have to send a STOP message,” Melissa Michelson, dean of Menlo College, told Time Magazine.

This year again, Republicans are ahead of Democrats in terms of campaign messages: the political group has already sent twice as many.

Political messages aren’t the only ones bothering Americans, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reported that illegal and spoofed robocalls are the top consumer complaints.

“These include complaints from consumers whose numbers are spoofed or whose calls are mistakenly blocked or labeled as a possible fraudulent call by a robocall blocking app or service,” the FCC said.

“Scammers make automated calls asking about your Social Security number, taxes, or health insurance.

“They say if you don’t pay or refuse to give them your personal information, something bad will happen or you will miss out on government benefits. It’s a scam.”

The agency urged the public not to respond to unknown senders and to contact their phone carrier to help block such calls.