WhatsApp spam texts are an annoying and persistent issue for many users. If your phone is constantly lighting up with unsolicited sales pitches, phishing scams, or suspicious links, you’re probably wondering why this keeps happening and what can be done about it.
What are WhatsApp spam texts?
WhatsApp spam texts refer to unsolicited commercial or fraudulent messages sent through the WhatsApp messaging platform. They are similar to spam emails, except they reach you directly on your phone via WhatsApp instead of your email inbox.
Some examples of common WhatsApp spam texts include:
- Sales or marketing pitches promoting a product, service, or offer
- “Free gift” offers that ask you to share personal details
- Messages claiming you won a contest you didn’t enter
- Links to phishing sites that try to steal your data or install malware
- Messages from unknown contacts that appear automated or copied/pasted
The goal of most WhatsApp spam is either to sell you something, spread malware, or steal your personal and financial information through tricks and social engineering.
Why do spammers target WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging platforms globally, with over 2 billion active users. This huge user base makes it an attractive network for spammers trying to cast a wide net and reach many people quickly.
Some key reasons why WhatsApp is exploited by spammers include:
- Ease of automation – Services exist that allow spammers to automate sending huge volumes of messages through WhatsApp.
- Goes directly to your phone – Messages reach you on your personal device, increasing engagement.
- Shows up as a contact – Messages appear to come from an actual contact, adding a veneer of legitimacy.
- Groups and forwarded messages – Spam can spread rapidly through group chats and forwarded messages.
- Encrypted platform – WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, making spam hard to track and block.
In summary, WhatsApp provides spammers with direct access to an enormous audience in a simple, efficient, and secretive manner.
How do spammers get your phone number?
For spammers to bombard you on WhatsApp, they first need to obtain your phone number, which is your username on the platform. Here are some common ways they get your number:
- You may have accidentally confirmed it on a website form or SMS spam trap.
- Your number could have been part of a data breach or sold by a company you did business with.
- People you know may have unwittingly shared your contact info with spammers.
- Robocallers or phone number “scrappers” can harvest numbers through various techniques.
- Some spammers simply cycle through millions of number combinations.
In many cases, spammers buy or gain access to entire databases of phone numbers. Once they have your number, you may notice an increase in spam calls in addition to WhatsApp texts.
Why do I keep getting the spam texts?
Once spammers have your phone number, the reason you keep getting WhatsApp spam likely comes down to a few factors:
- Automated systems – Spamming software allows endless texts to be sent to you automatically.
- Number recycling – Your number may be getting recycled in multiple scam campaigns.
- Manipulated sender IDs – Spammers can make texts appear to be from different sources.
- No unsubscribing – There’s no way to unsubscribe from illegal spam texts.
- Easy to scale – WhatsApp makes it cheap and easy to reach millions of users.
In essence, once spammers latch onto your number, they have the tools and technology to hit you with an endless barrage of texts from an ever-changing array of sender IDs. Unlike email spam that lands in a separate folder, these annoying texts directly interrupt your day.
Why don’t spam texts get blocked?
With so much WhatsApp spam circulating, you may be frustrated that more isn’t being done to block these unwanted texts. There are some challenges that make this difficult:
- WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption prevents the company from viewing message contents.
- Spamming software allows spammers to constantly change sender IDs.
- It’s hard to distinguish legitimate marketing texts from illegal spam.
- Blocking specific numbers doesn’t help when spammers rotate numbers.
- Some spam may come from groups, forwards, and contacts unknowingly passing texts along.
While WhatsApp does have some anti-spam detection, the platform wasn’t designed to deal with the flood of automated texts spammers now utilize. More advanced filtering would likely require compromising encryption and privacy.
How to cut down on WhatsApp spam texts
Dealing with frequent WhatsApp spam can be aggravating, but there are some steps you can take to help reduce the texts you receive:
- Be extremely cautious about sharing your phone number online or with companies.
- Only give your number to trusted individuals and never pass it on through group texts.
- Report spam texts to WhatsApp so they can block associated accounts.
- Install a spam call and text blocker app that maintains blacklists.
- Avoid clicking suspicious links which could confirm your active number.
- Politely ask contacts not to forward viral texts that could expose your number.
- Change your number as a last resort if spam persists.
You can also increase security by enabling WhatsApp’s two-step verification and exercising caution when receiving log-in codes over SMS.
Conclusion
WhatsApp spam texts are caused by sophisticated spammers exploiting the platform’s enormous user base, encryption limitations, and automated texting capabilities. Once they have your number, a recurring barrage of annoying texts can be hard to stop. While WhatsApp’s options to combat this are limited, users can take various precautions to protect their number and reduce unwanted spam through vigilant privacy habits and smart third-party apps.