Latest news with #spam
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Spam texts and robocalls are more than a nuisance. People are being scammed.
If you're anything like me, you've probably reached your limit with the incessant barrage of spam text messages and calls that flood your phone. It seems that every few minutes, I get yet another unsolicited message — whether it's from a random number trying to convince me to sell my home or a marketing survey asking for my thoughts on everything from the current state of the economy to the performance of President Donald Trump. The most frustrating part about these intrusions is the constant prompt to type "Stop" if you wish to opt out. Yet, I've noticed that responding in this way often feels counterproductive; instead of putting an end to the harassment, it seems to only add my number to even more lists of groups that bombard me with relentless messages. The frustrating cycle worsens when I receive a call from an unknown number. If I don't answer, I might miss an important call. Conversely, when I do pick up and hear, 'Hello, James, we've been reviewing your property and are ready to extend a generous offer to you…' I want to scream. Robocalls and scam texts are not only frustrating; they can also lead to significant financial losses. I usually don't allow the caller to finish their second sentence on a spam call before I interrupt and tell them to remove me from their call list. When they are aggressive — and some can be — I resort to a few choice colorful words, much to my wife's dismay. I added my number to the national do-not-call list in 2024 because I was overwhelmed by the numerous spam calls and texts from phone companies, individuals trying to buy my house, and people conducting political surveys. However, it seems that the calls and texts have gotten worse than ever. Here are just some of the spam text messages I received recently: 'The Fed warned that a recession may already be here. Unemployment is growing. Prices are still going up. The Republican budget will only make it worse, handing more tax breaks to billionaires while the rest of us worry about making ends meet. Is your family ready for a recession? -TS Stop to end' Recession Alert: Trump calls it 'an adjustment period.' His Treasury Secretary said there are 'no guarantees' we avoid recession. The Fed is worried. So is the Wall Street Journal. They know Trump's reckless tariffs will cripple small businesses, cost jobs, and raise prices for American Families. It's all part of the Republican plan to give mass tax breaks to the richest Americans while the rest of us try to make ends meet. Stop to End.' 'Hi James, if the 2025 midterm elections to Congress were held today, for which party would you vote? Republican B. Democrat C. Other D. Will not vote' 'Hi, James. We are reviewing properties in your area and are prepared to make you a generous offer on your property located at (address). Don't let the opportunity pass you by. There has never been a better time to sell your home.' 'Dear James, my name is Cindi, and I was wondering if you would be interested in selling your property at (address). If you're wondering how I got your information, it's all on public records. Don't feel like you're being targeted. If you're interested in selling your property, it will be a FAST and EASY transaction, because we can pay CASH!' I've also received robotexts from institutions that appeared legitimate but were ultimately scams. For example, on March 27, I got a message from E-ZPass claiming that I had an 'outstanding toll.' It text stated, 'If you fail to pay by March 30, 2025, you will face penalties or legal action.' The text included a link for more details. Officials have warned the public about this nationwide scam and advised against clicking on the link, as it could install malware on their devices. While the number of robocalls has decreased by 17% over the last three years, unwanted robotexts have tripled during the same period. This indicates that scammers are increasingly using unregulated texts, according to the Federal Trade Commission. You are likely receiving more robocalls as well, because 21% of Americans, or approximately 56 million people, lost money due to scam calls in 2023, according to Truecaller's U.S. Spam and Scam Report. According to the report, those who have been defrauded tend to be the segment of the community who can least afford a financial loss. While volumes have declined, the threat may have accelerated, according to the report. The report highlighted that during election cycles, Americans receive unprecedented levels of mobile targeting for calls and messages aimed at fundraising, influencing behavior, and, in many instances, enabling fraud by bad actors who exploit the commotion. Some of the key findings from the report: Black and Hispanic adults were twice as likely to report losing money due to robocalls and texts compared to white Americans. Artificial intelligence is increasingly utilized to make these scams sound more realistic. Individuals aged 18-44 are three times more likely to be targeted than older adults. Robocall and text scams have cost Americans $25.4 billion in losses. The primary question is: How can we, as consumers, protect ourselves from spam and safeguard our personal information? It's important to remember that not all robocalls or robotexts are spam. Some are automated messages, such as the reminder I receive from my dentist a few days before my appointment, or notifications when I'm late on a credit card payment — those are particularly frustrating. A story by my USA Today colleague Cody Godwin suggests that we should consider several steps to enhance our safety. Godwin recommends contacting your wireless provider to see which tools and solutions they offer that you can implement. Some may already be built into your device to block or flag spam calls. I've just learned this: you should also ensure that your caller ID is activated. You can register your phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry. Opinion: Here's what readers had to say about wake-enhanced boating on Wisconsin lakes While this is intended to prevent telemarketers from calling or texting you, we acknowledge that not everyone adheres to this rule. Although most people don't go this far, if the calls and texts continue, you can file a complaint online with the FTC or FCC. You can also call the FTC at 1-877-FTC-HELP or the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC. Another option is to download and activate a robocall blocking app. For extra protection, be smart and never give access to your bank information, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords, or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious. If you answer the phone and the caller or recording asks you to press a button to stop receiving calls, simply hang up. Scammers use this trick to identify potential targets. While I desire stronger measures to combat the constant influx of unwanted robocalls and intrusive robotexts, I can't help but feel that the situation will only worsen. Therefore, it is up to us to stay alert and protect ourselves from unsolicited communications that buzz and ding from unknown numbers. It is essential to remain vigilant and protect our personal space and assets amid this growing digital chaos. Reach James E. Causey at jcausey@ follow him on X@jecausey. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Spam calls, texts can cost you money. Don't fall for them | Opinion
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford regrets email ‘spam' remarks after backlash
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said Thursday she regretted remarks made in Parliament earlier in the month when she likened unsolicited emails from Indians to "spam". When answering parliamentary questions about the use of her private email on 6 May, Stanford said she had received a number of emails from people in India asking for immigration advice, which she never responded to. She told RNZ she had been receiving emails from all over the world, and she would not have singled out any particular country if she could go back in time. Stanford said she never intended to upset anyone when she made the comments. "You know, it wasn't my intent to draw out one particular country," Stanford told RNZ on Thursday. "It was just a recent example that I happened to have in my head at the time. "If I could go back and not say that particular country, of course I would." When asked if she regretted making those remarks, Stanford said, "Looking back, of course". "I would have said many people from many countries e-mail me asking for a job and a visa, and I do treat those as spam because clearly no minister in any country would be expected to respond to such an e-mail saying, 'Can I please have a job' and 'Can I please have a visa' from someone who's not stepped foot in the country before," she said. On 6 May, Labour's Willow-Jean Prime asked Stanford to confirm every email related to her ministerial portfolios, which had ever been sent to or from her personal email account, had been captured for official record. The question followed revelations a day earlier that Stanford had used her personal email account for work purposes, including sending herself pre-Budget announcements to print out. "I have complied with the Official Information Act. I have also made sure that everything is available to be captured and have forwarded everything that I've needed to my parliamentary email address," Stanford said in response to the Labour MP's question. "I will acknowledge, though, in a very similar case to Kelvin Davis, I receive a lot of unsolicited emails like, for example, things from people in India asking for immigration advice, which I never respond to. I almost regard those as being akin to spam, and so there are those ones. But, similarly, other ministers have had probably very similar issues." Priyanca Radhakrishnan Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a former minister of ethnic communities, made her displeasure with the remarks about unsolicited emails from India clear in a social media post on 10 May. "Earlier this week, in response to a question by @willowjeanprime the Immigration Minister felt the need to single out people from one country/ethnicity in a negative light," Radhakrishnan wrote. "If you're from India, don't bother emailing her because it's automatically considered spam. So much for the National govt's all-of-government focus on strengthening the relationship between India and NZ and focus on people-to-people links." Approached by RNZ, the minister initially defended her remarks , claiming Radhakrishnan's assertion was "incorrect". "As I advised the House, I receive unsolicited emails from people overseas to my personal email address, often requesting personal immigration advice," Stanford said. "In this instance, I recalled a recent email I'd received of this nature when answering in Question Time. I did not say it is automatically considered as spam, I said 'I almost regard those as being akin to spam'. "While these people are attempting to contact me as the minister of immigration, I have no ministerial responsibility for providing non-citizens with immigration advice, nor do my officials at Immigration NZ have any responsibility. "Therefore, these emails to my personal email address are not responded to. Emails sent to my official email addresses are managed appropriately by my office." Stanford's remarks have sparked anger in India over the past two weeks, with many mainstream media in the subcontinent devoting column inches to the story. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Stanford could have expressed herself better , but meant no offence when she made comments about receiving emails from people in India. Veer Khar Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom Members of the Indian community in New Zealand have also criticised the minister for her remarks. Veer Khar, president of the New Zealand Indian Central Association, expressed concern about Stanford's comments. "We find this characterisation ill-mannered, dismissive and inappropriate," Khar wrote in a letter to the minister. "While we appreciate that ministers receive a high volume of unsolicited emails, the specific reference to Indian-origin correspondence creates an unfortunate impression of bias against a community that has long contributed positively to New Zealand's economy, culture and society," he wrote. "Your comments not only risk damaging trust in the immigration process but also send an unwelcome message to aspiring migrants and Indian-New Zealanders who seek fair and respectful engagement with the government." Ravi Bajpai Photo: Supplied Ravi Bajpai, editor of Indian community newspaper Indian Weekender, said Stanford's remarks contained two core assumptions. "First ... is the way Stanford made the reference to Indians," Bajpai said. "[She] actually doesn't need [to] typecast a particular ethnicity. "Second one is more subtle. When the immigration minister herself is engendering such stereotypes, it will rub off on officials making frontline immigration decisions. "The Indian community in general feels the real question is about implicit bias. "[But] a lot of immigration advisors I have talked to say it's not just implicit bias, it's also explicit bias against a lot of applications they deal [concerning Indians]." Bajpai said the remarks had become a hot-button issue in the community because Indian media had picked it up. "Her remarks have made headlines on all the major news website. It also coincides with Foreign Minister Winston Peters' visit to India," he said. "When you are trying to crack a [free trade] deal with India, something you haven't been able to do for about 10-15 years, does it really help for your minister to say things like that?"
RNZ News
5 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Immigration Minister under fire over India comments
politics immigration 22 minutes ago Comments the immigration minister made likening unsolicited emails from Indians to spam has prompted criticism from the Indian community - labelling it illmannered and inapropriate. President of the New Zealand Indian Central Association, Veer Khar, spoke with Charlotte Cook.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Canadians report a rise in spam calls and text: new study
A new report shows spam calls and texts are on the rise across the country - and most people are tired of it
The Sun
21-05-2025
- The Sun
Embarrassing text mistake we've all made can now be FIXED after Google makes major change to millions of phones
GOOGLE pals may soon be able to unsend your unwanted messages. The surprising new feature would allow other people to erase texts you've sent. The company was previously potted testing a 'Delete for everyone' option in late March. Now, the tech giant looks set to roll out the option for some users. Reddit user seeareeff reported seeing the "Delete for everyone" option in at least one group conversation in Google Messages with 12 people. They went on to add that the option does not apply to smaller groups or in on-to-one chats. If applied, Google users will have fifteen minutes to remove texts they wish to delete. SPAM SOLUTION Elsewhere, a new button is being introduced by Google messages to enable phone users to stop receiving unwanted SMS texts or RCS chats. This function has been built into the Google Messages app as a tool to make it easier for people to stop receiving automated texts that often come as spam. It involves an "unsubscribe" button for Google messages that may be promotions or other "non-essential content". The new feature can appear at the bottom of the chat, just above the text field, or in the conversation's overflow menu if it seems like spam. An option to "unsubscribe to stop receiving messages" becomes available for RCS business messages for those in the UK, US, Brazil, France, Germany, india, Mexico, and Spain. Google reveals 'Advanced Protection' for VIPs – and you can use it too Just tap on this button and you can start the process of receiving messages from that particular sender. A short list of reasons will then appear as why you are unsubscribing. It includes selections like: "Not signed up", "Too many messages", "No longer interested", "Spam", and "Other". When the "Spam" option is clicked, it will then provide a "Report this sender" button. From this, Google Messages tells the sender to "STOP" sending messages to your number, and a notice saying "you should no longer receive non-essential messages from that sender" appears. Essential and requested messages can still be received from the sender after unsubscribing. This includes one-time passwords or boarding passes requested from the business, or confirmation of the unsubscribe request with information to further manage communication preferences from them. A business may also be unable to comply with unsubscribe requests, and will subsequently redirect you to account settings to change message notifications throughout you account. You can go to the overflow menu if you want to resubscribe to the sender's messages. The button should not be used interchangeably with blocking, as Google Messages does not yet detect spam automatically. The new button is also for the Google Messages app specifically, so does not apply to the regular messages app that comes on Samsung or iPhone devices.
