We want to warn you about a potential issue that could occur after refinancing your home: an unexpected surge in spam messages. “Morgan” from Yuma, Arizona, reached out to share that she experienced this.
“We had to refinance our house and tried through XYZ. We now get a lot of spam that I have to continually block. I know it is them because we’ve used Rocket Mortgage for years and never had an issue, and XYZ was the only new organization we had been communicating with using that email. How do you prevent that?”
The good news is there are ways to avoid spam and prevent it from coming back. Here’s what you need to know.
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Illustration of deleting messages (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Tips to help combat spam
If you get a spam message, avoid replying or clicking on any links in the message. Follow the steps below to prevent future spam texts.
How to stop spam text messages on iPhone
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down and tap Apps
- Scroll down to the Messages app and open it
- Scroll down until you see Filter Unknown Senders and toggle it on
- Open the Messages app and tap on Filters in the upper right-hand corner. Then, you will see that your text messages have been filtered into five categories: All Messages, Known Senders, Unknown Senders, Unread Messages and Recently Deleted
Now, messages from senders not in your contact list will be directed to the “Unknown Senders” folder, and you won’t receive a notification for them.
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How to stop spam text messages on Android
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.
- Open the Messages app
- Tap the three-dots icon in the top-right corner
- In Settings, scroll down and tap Spam Protection
- Turn on Enable spam protection
Illustration of securing your data (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How to attempt to minimize these annoying robocalls
Along with spam messages, those annoying robocalls after searching for a lender to refinance can be a serious nuisance. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to minimize these interruptions as well and protect your privacy.
1) Don’t answer calls or texts from unfamiliar numbers
Not answering unfamiliar calls is one of the best ways to avoid a potential scam. Most phone carriers now label robocalls as “Spam Risk” or something similar. Scammers often use your local area code or even parts of your phone number to make you think the call is legitimate. That’s why it’s crucial to carefully check the number before picking up. If you don’t recognize the number, it’s safest to ignore the call or text in case it’s spam.
2) Block the number
If you get a spam call and want to prevent future calls from the same number, you can easily block it. Find out how to block unknown callers on both iPhones and Android devices here.
3) Use your carrier’s spam and robocall blocking service
Major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile offer free services to block spam and robocalls. These include AT&T Call Protect, Sprint/T-Mobile Scam Shield and Verizon Call Filter. Reach out to your provider for more details.
4) Try third-party spam-blocking apps
iPhones and Androids have apps available for users to download to detect spam calls before they reach you. Get our top recommendations here.
5) Invest in personal data removal services
Unfortunately, there’s a high chance that your phone number is readily available on many lists that data brokers sell to numerous search websites. However, removing your number from these sites can help lower the chances of spammers getting a hold of it and reaching out to you. With a data removal service, your personal information is removed from the web so data brokers and scammers never get their hands on your personal phone number, home address or email address. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
Illustration of the delete icon (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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Kurt’s key takeaways
As frustrating as spam may be, there are steps you can take to minimize these unwanted messages, including blocking numbers, using carrier spam-blocking services and enabling built-in spam filters on your phone. These tips will help you reduce spam and protect your personal information.
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to spam calls and texts? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
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