“I get lots of messages and have no idea who they’re from – is that what spam is?”

Spam is simply unsolicited SMS or MMS messaging sent indiscriminately to your cell phone–often for commercial purposes.

Spam comes from many sources–email, short codes and other wireless numbers. Since SMS email is an extension of how the internet is used, email is the most prevalent source of spam. And spam is used for many reasons–to push  political and social agendas, spread computer viruses, and yes, to sell products and services.Opt-in alerts, often confused with spam, are also received as messages on your mobile device. If you’ve signed up for this type of alert, either knowingly or unknowingly, you have to cancel your alert subscription to stop delivery.

SMS = Text messages
MMS = Text message with pictures, video or audio content

“What is AT&T doing about the spam I  receive on my cell phone?”

AT&T has been aggressive in addressing the challenge of cell phone spam. We’ve installed a “behind-the-scenes” spam-defense system with state-of-the-art network filters, virus traps and other blocking methods that screen out unwanted messages. We’re also fighting the spam problem in the courts and have been very successful using this strategy to stop  spammers from reaching you.Most importantly, we’re proactively developing and  providing you with more powerful, more effective ways to control the SMS and MMS messaging that gets delivered  to your cell phone.

“If I get a spam message, what should I do?”

Help us stop spam on your phone. Text us the actual spam message to short code 7726 (SPAM) to start an investigation.

“Is there something I can do ON MY OWN to stop the spamming?”

5 ways to control SMS and MMS

1. To restrict the sources of email that reach your phone, visit http://mymessages.wireless.att.com
2. Or reply to unwanted email messages with BLOCK in the body of the response to prevent future messages from that sender
3. Reply to unsolicited short codes with STOP in the body of the response to prevent future messages from that short code
4. To block phone calls and SMS from specific 10-digit numbers, sign up for AT&T Smart Limits for  Wireless™ at http://att.com/smartlimitsforwireless
5. If no other solution works, please contact  AT&T Customer Care for additional assistance

“What can I do if I get charged  for spam?”

If spam has become a problem for you, simply let us know and we’ll work with you to resolve the issue. It’s impossible for us to determine if a message is unsolicited unless you bring it to our attention.

For more information about controlling spam, go to www.att.com/wireless and search on “spam”.