- "Bad actors" are reportedly responsible for texts to Verizon customers that come from their own number.
- The FTC said recently that phone fraud reports have skyrocketed.
- Verizon also told The Verge it was not a cyberattack or directly related to the carrier.
Verizon said it's working to resolve a new fake text trend, where users are receiving spam texts that appear to come from their own numbers.
"Verizon is aware that bad actors are sending spam text messages to some customers which appear to come from the customers' own number. Our team is actively working to block these messages, and we have engaged with U.S. law enforcement to identify and stop the source of this fraudulent activity. Verizon continues to work on behalf of the customer to prevent spam texts and related activity," a Verizon spokesperson told Insider.
The self-spam issue was originally reported by The Verge.
While spam calls and text messages are common, it is actually illegal to send people commercial text messages without consent, and if someone calls you to try and sell something without your permission, that's illegal, too (but there are a few exceptions).
The Federal Trade Commission said in February that its data showed 2.8 million people filed fraud reports in 2021 and that consumers said they lost over $5.8 billion, a 70% increase over 2020.
If you remember the extended auto warranty voicemails, the agency also took action against the relevant actors for illegal calls, among other things, in February.
President Biden warned last week of "evolving intelligence" that Russia is looking into cyberattacks and said companies should bolster defenses "immediately," amid the invasion of Ukraine, which slowed amid peace talks this week.
However, Verizon told The Verge the texts were not the result of some sort of hack.
"We believe this activity is being generated from external bad actors with no direct tie to our company," said Rich Young, one of the company's directors of corporate communications.
You can forward a spam text to SPAM (7726) and block spam numbers or report spammers to carriers and the Federal Trade Commission. But it's a bit of a game of whack-a-mole. The Federal Communications Commission also has a mechanism for reporting your phone number has been hijacked by a third party.
The FTC and the FCC did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.