Racist spam messages sent to local students

(LEX 18) — Racist text messages reported as spam are being sent to students in Kentucky and across the country.

According to the widely circulated message, the recipient has been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. There is also a date and time by which it must be completed.

“This is not a joke. Other people will get hurt or offended, like I did for my child,” explained Stephanie, whose daughter is a freshman at Eastern Kentucky University.

She says her daughter and some of her friends all received the same text message Wednesday afternoon.

Stephanie shared part of that message with LEX 18:

“Greetings. You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Please be ready with your belongings promptly at 12:00 noon on November 13. Are there management slaves coming to pick you up in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched once you reach the plantation.”

As long as

When asked what she felt when she read the message, Stephanie replied, “Fear. Definitely fear. There’s no other way to say it. She’s a woman. She is African American and hate first and foremost.”

Later that same evening, her daughter received another message. This time it had her name on it and said: ‘You have been transferred to plantation group A as a house slave.’

“There are so many women, not just women, anyone, any skin color can get hurt, and you have to take it seriously with everything that’s going on,” Stephanie explains.

Chase Gullett is a cybersecurity expert and the CEO of Phishing Box.

“I think it will most likely be some kind of state actor or something political trying to create some kind of void in our community,” Gullett says.

Gullett says it’s important to report it.

“Most iOS devices in the newer versions have a way to report an actual text message. That goes to Apple and they will distribute it to the carriers, whether it’s AT&T or Verizon. That’s the fastest and easiest way to make sure it gets reported,” says Gullett.

It is also the first step in stopping spam messages.

“They police it and they’ve shut it down pretty tightly over the last few years with some of the legislation. There are actual fines that these carriers get when people get on there and people text en masse. Believe it or not, it would be more look like our email accounts if they didn’t.”

Stephanie says these types of messages should be taken seriously and hopes those who receive them report them.

“Even if it’s a joke, don’t joke like this. You’ll scare parents,” says Stephanie.