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Spam texts are pretty common these days. It has seen a surge in the recent years. Statista notes, in 2020 data, that an average American received about 14.7 spam texts per day. It’s important to understand that this represents a general average, and some individuals likely receive even more unwanted messages. What exacerbates the issue is that these spam messages aren’t merely annoying; they often serve as gateways to more malicious activities.
Many of these texts lead recipients into phishing scams or various fraudulent schemes. Finally, T-Mobile is taking further steps to put an end to this practice. As we transition into 2024, T-Mobile is set to roll out new regulations targeting spammers and scammers—terms often used interchangeably in this context. Hence, violators could face hefty fines, with penalties reaching up to $2,000.
T-Mobile will fine those who send spam text messages to your phone
Starting January 1, 2024, T-Mobile’s Un-carrier program will charge fines to other companies that use their network to send scammy or bad texts. An announcement by Vonage said these fines can be between $500 and $2,000, depending on how bad the text is. If a text tries to trick you into giving away personal info, it gets the highest fine of $2,000. Texts with illegal stuff get a $1,000 fine. For other not-so-bad messages, the fine is $500.
These fines from T-Mobile aim to reduce the number of fake and unwanted texts people get. Even though this might not stop all individual scammers or keep people from signing up for unwanted texts by mistake, it makes companies like Vonage think twice before sending bad texts using T-Mobile’s network. These fines might make companies hesitate and decide not to send harmful texts. Notably, other telco majors like Verizon or AT&T have yet to speak on the matter, but we hope they do. Notably, AT&T has a name for itself for blocking over 1 billion spam texts previously.