# Now: SPAM texts?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 13, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900 "2018-10-13T12:57:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900/1 "2018-10-13T12:57:59Z")

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Is this new? Well, new to me. Half from groups/cos./people who keep trying to call me.

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**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900/2 "2018-10-13T21:05:35Z")

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> [@DummyGladHands](#):
>
> Is this new? Well, new to me. Half from groups/cos./people who keep trying to call me.

I get the same thing on my phone!

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**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900/3 "2018-10-13T22:22:22Z")

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Nope been around for years. Every phone has an email address, it’s \<phone #\> @ \<provider (AT&T, Verizon, etc.)\>. If you send an email, it comes in as a text. They used to assign an exchange to a mobile carrier; not all may have been assigned & some people may have changed carriers but that’s roughly 10,000 numbers that can be spammed from knowing one exchange assignment.

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**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-spam-texts/822900/4 "2018-10-16T01:47:01Z")

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Not new at all. I think all the carriers have a number to which you can forward such spam; you’ll get a reply asking to tell them what the phone number was that it came from.

I imagine this does roughly nothing.