Summary
For many people, text messages have replaced the email inbox. This has made text messages a portal for scams and security threats, making it even more important to be very careful with text messages.
Making Text Messages More Secure
Here are some suggestions for improving text message security.
- BLOCK — Smartphones generally have an option to block message from a sender the first time a message is received. You may want to capture a screenshot of the sender’s number and the message for future reference before blocking and deleting it. It’s a good idea to block known spam because this helps the phone carrier better identify bad senders.
- CONTACTS — When text messages are received, the sender is indicated as a number or a name in your contacts / address book. When you know a text message is from a legitimate sender, such as during an initial account setup, or a message received when expected such as during an account setup. You can add a trusted text message sender / number to an existing contact in your address book, or create a new separate entry just for that sender such as “Bank – Messages” where the word Bank is replaced with your bank name. This way, if you receive a message in the future saying, “This is _____ bank. We need you to verify a transaction…” if that message does not come from a known trusted number, you should be a bit more careful with it.
- FRIENDS — Encourage friends and family to use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Chat, or a similar app for less urgent or less important conversations. You could consider grouping communications by app, such as chatting with Friends using one app and using a different app for work. Reserve direct text messages to your phone for urgent or time sensitive communications.
- PREVIEW — Depending on the brand of smartphone you use, there may be a way to preview a website link address without clicking and having the page launch. For example, on an iPhone you can press and hold on a link to see the address. This will also provide an option to copy the link. A service called Browserling is an example of how you can paste in an address to view a website in a secure walled browser so it can’t infect your device or computer. Know that some scammers will use a unique link that can inform the sender if you have opened the link, regardless of where it was opened, so be mindful of that.
- REDUCE — It’s best to reduce text message exchanges and instead use email for any communications that aren’t urgent. It’s easier to search for and find messages in emails on certain topics. If you’re searching for a text message from a month ago, or a discussion on a certain topic, it’s easy to do so with email. Let text messages be reserved for timely important messages. Otherwise, your text messages become a flood of spam, fundraising appeals, and less important communications. This makes it harder to see messages that actually are important and time sensitive.
- STOP — When you reply to a message with the word “Stop” it is a universal unsubscribe. Most legitimate senders will immediately remove you from their list. Some political groups sell your name and phone number to limitless third parties, so even after you unsubscribe from one sender, you’ll continue to get unsolicited message from others related to the group. To slowly diminish the spam, you’ll need to continually unsubscribe from the additional third parties that unceasingly contact you.
