Spam Text Statistics: How Scam Messages Impact Consumers

The Spam Text Statistics report that in 2020, nearly 4% of all texts sent globally were some form of smishing scam. This figure is up from 2% in 2019, showing how quickly text frauds have grown and spread. Interestingly, most smishing scams target people in the United States, with 8% of all texts being scams.

This article covers the following.

1. Spam text statistics
2. How to identify spam texts
3. How to avoid being a victim by blocking spam texts

What is Smishing?

Smishing is a phishing attack that uses SMS (text) messages to try to steal your personal information. The attacker sends you a text message containing a link or an attachment that appears to be from a legitimate source.

But if you click on the link or open the attachment, you will download malware or give the attacker access to your personal information. Criminals also send deceptive text messages to lure people into revealing personal information or transferring money.

Spam Texts Are Increasing Every Year

There was a 58% increase in spam texts sent from 2020 to 2021. Americans received an average of 16.9 fake texts per month in April 2021, which increased to 41 texts by April 2022. Spam texts surpassed the spam call number in 2020 and have been increasing.

The spam text numbers evoke shock and disbelief, with September 2021 recording 1.227 million spam texts and August 2022 recording 10.89 billion. These numbers prove that scammers will not ease their relentless attack. You must become proactive and protect yourself against spam texts if you do not want to lose money to phony texts.

How Often Do People Receive Spam Texts?

Scammers are relentless in pursuing unsuspecting victims to steal their money or identity. Statistics reveal some staggering robotext numbers for November 2022, highlighting the preparedness of scammers and the plight of victims.

In November 2022, scammers sent out approximately 1,576,496,425 spam texts per day. Weekends alone saw an influx of 2,372,499,616 spam texts. On synthesizing these numbers, you can see that scammers sent out 1,094,789 spam texts per minute. It would be monumental if you escaped a text scam as these numbers indicate that scammers would send out 173 robotexts to an individual on average.

How Much Money Do People Lose Because of Text Scams?

Several people have fallen prey to text scams, and the numbers are increasing yearly. The total loss to text scams in 2021 was estimated to be $10,066,331,169. The $10 billion lost in 2021 is a several-fold increase from the $86 million lost to scams in 2020. This increase explains the trend of text scams and reflects victims' lack of awareness and unpreparedness.

Common Text Scams and Their Statistics

Some of the standard text scams you should be aware of are

1. Delivery Scams

If you receive a text from someone impersonating a famous delivery company and asking you to click a link to track a package you have not ordered, this is a sure-shot scam. Scammers sent 23,076,811,343 delivery texts in 2021 to target unsuspecting victims.

Suggestion: Do not click the link in the message; block the number, and report it to the authorities immediately.

2. Covid-19 Scams

Texts related to free Covid test kits, the Stafford Act, WHO impersonations, donation scams, and government-issued checks scams are some of the Covid-19-related text scams and constitute. Scammers sent 5,696,455,112 covid related texts in 2021 to scam people.

Suggestion: Be wary of texts that solicit personal information, ask you to click a link, or donate. Report such numbers to the authorities after blocking them if you are suspicious.

3. Bank Scam Texts

If you receive texts that ask you to click a link to furnish your details as your checking account has been frozen, this is a scam. Banks do not ask you for personal information, PIN, or other details over the phone. Scammers sent 3,071,087,772 bank scam texts in 2021.

Suggestion: Visit your nearest bank branch or call their toll-free number to understand the actual scenario. Block the number and delete the message once you confirm it was a scam.

4. Apple + Hardware Sweepstakes Scam

If you receive a text that asks you to furnish personal information to enter sweepstakes or win an Apple device, it is most likely a scam. Scammers sent 2,601,735,612 such scam texts to lure unsuspecting people in 2021.

Suggestion: Do not furnish your details over the phone. Block the phone number and delete the message.

5. Healthcare Scam Texts

When you receive a text asking you to click on a link to get health insurance benefits at too-good-to-be-true prices, this is likely a scam. If the text asks you for personal information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers, these are signs of a scam. Scammers sent out 1,060,272,839 healthcare scam texts in 2021.

Suggestion: Do not provide personal information to anyone over the phone. Block the number you received the scam text from and report the sender if you are suspicious.

How To Block Spam Texts on your iPhone

Here are two of the most effective ways to block spam texts on your iPhone:

1. Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App

Community Phone now offers a free spam-blocking app for iOS devices, providing the best protection against unwanted calls and texts. It blocks spam texts on your cell phone and landline before either phone beeps, giving you peace of mind.

The Community Phone app has advanced features, such as notifications to alert you about the numbers it blocks. It has been carefully designed to ensure complete user satisfaction and convenience.

The Community Phone spam-blocking app is completely free to download from the Apple store, ensuring that everyone can protect their phones from annoying spam calls and texts. Once installed, Community Phone works in the background to monitor incoming calls and blocks any suspicious activity.

The Community Phone app is incredibly easy to use, allowing users to customize settings according to their preferences. You can choose what type of calls and texts you want Community Phone to block. Landline users can also set up a whitelist for specific contacts in the app, so Community Phone's filters will not block them.

Thanks to its advanced algorithms and AI-backed technology, what sets Community Phone apart from other spam-blocking apps is its ability to block even unknown numbers. This ensures complete safety and security while using the Community Phone app. In addition, Community Phone has many other features, such as real-time monitoring, caller name recognition, call stats tracking, and more!

Overall, Community Phone’s FREE Spam Blocking App provides an effective solution against annoying spam calls and texts without compromising performance or reliability. Its optimized features and intuitive interface make blocking unwanted calls a breeze!

2. Manually Block the Spam Number From Your iPhone

You can block scam calls manually on your iPhone by following these steps:

1. Open the Phone App
2. Tap > Recent
3. Locate the number you want to block
4. Tap the info icon
5. Scroll to the bottom
6. Tap block this caller
7. Tap Confirm