If it feels like you’re getting hit with more text scams, that’s likely true. Estimates in early 2025 show that nearly 20 billion spam texts were sent in one month in the U.S. alone. That’s roughly 64 spam texts per phone and nearly a 100% increase since early 2023. Within that glut of spam texts, many were text scams, where scammers masquerade as a legitimate company, financial institution, government agency, or even as someone you know. They’ll hit you with messages like:

  • “You have a package coming to you, but we’re having a problem with delivering it. Please click here to provide delivery information to receive your package.”
  • “We spotted what may be unusual activity on your credit card. Follow this link to confirm your account information.”
  • “You owe back taxes. Send payment immediately using this link or we will refer your case to law enforcement.”

You can see why phishing attacks can be so effective. Messages like these have an urgency to them or seem just legit enough that you can’t dismiss them right away. They’re looking and sounding increasingly convincing today thanks to AI tools. That’s where the troubles start. Tapping the links in a text scam can lead to several potentially nasty events, such as:

  • A phony login page where the scammer tries to steal account credentials from you.
  • Malware that installs keylogging software for stealing passwords and other information as you type.
  • Spyware that hijacks information on your device and secretly sends it back to the scammer.
  • Ransomware that holds a device and its data hostage until a fee is paid.

The long con of romance scams

Another form of text scam might kick off with a simple “Hi” from some random phone number. Or it might be a seemingly innocent “Hey. Are we still on for lunch?” This is often the opening to a more drawn-out romance scam. Scammers generally blast out messages like these to thousands of phones, all with the hope that a handful of curious people will respond and start a conversation. Over time, the scammers get to know their victims, form a relationship through messaging, then finally ask for money in some form — only to disappear. While you can’t entirely stop text scams like these from making their way to your phone, you can do several things to keep yourself from falling for them and take steps to make it tougher for scammers to reach you.

How to avoid text scams

Learning how to recognize suspicious messages and knowing what steps to take can help you avoid falling victim and keep your personal data safe.

Pause and think about the message for a minute

In all, text scams smell fishy. Angry texts from a “tax agent” looking to collect back taxes, a misdelivered package, or loud, overexcited texts about deep discounts on hard-to-find items. They all send you to a scam site that steals your money and credit card info. Slow down and review that message with a critical eye. It might tip you off to a scam.

Deal directly with the company or organization in question

Some phishing attacks can look so convincing that you’ll want to follow up on them, like when a text reports irregular activity on your account or a bill appears to be past due. In these cases, don’t click on the link in the message. Go straight to the website of the bank, business, or organization in question and access your account from there. If you have questions, reach out to their customer service number or web page.

Consider the source

Consider, would an income tax collector contact you via text? The answer is no. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes it quite clear that they will never contact taxpayers via text or social media, let alone send angry, threatening messages. You can ignore cases like that altogether. However, plenty of legitimate businesses and organizations use texts to reach out and inform you. Scammers know that, which is why we’ll emphasize that you work directly with the bank, business, or organization you apparently got the text from. Don’t click on any links.

Remove your personal info from sketchy data broker sites

Data brokers buy detailed personal info from several public and private sources, such as local, state, and federal records. They also collect it from third parties like supermarket shopper’s cards and mobile apps that sell user data. Then, they’ll sell it to anyone who pays for it, including scammers. You can help reduce scam texts and calls by removing your info from those sites. Our Personal Data Cleanup scans some of the riskiest data broker sites and shows you which ones are selling your personal info.

Use a scam detector

Combine your healthy skepticism and awareness with the right technology, like our Web Protection and Scam Detector. Both will alert you if a link might take you to a sketchy site, and block those sites if you accidentally tap or click on a bad link.