Google Messages users hit by RCS spam text messages

What do you want to know

• Google Messages users receive random texts containing strings of characters, appearing as encrypted content.
• Initially reported two years ago, the issue has resurfaced and many users are now receiving messages from outside their area code.
• All of these messages include a link to Google’s support page to resolve decryption issues.

Google Messages users would receive random gibberish texts containing strings of characters and appearing to appear as encrypted content.

Google Messages provides end-to-end encryption by default, ensuring that only the intended recipient can read messages. However, a Reddit post spotted by Android Police shows that people are receiving RCS messages that look like spam.

These messages mostly look like gibberish, with random letters and numbers in no particular order. They probably appear this way because they could not be properly encrypted.

The thread’s original post is from two years ago, but it has recently received many new replies. According to these recent responses, many users are receiving messages outside of their area code. That said, our own Derrek Lee confirms he received a similar gibberish message, but it came from his own area code.