How to Stop Spam Texts: Blocking, Reporting to 7726, and Carrier Filters

No single setting stops every spam text, but three layers cut most of them: your phone’s filter, your carrier’s free blocking tool, and reporting each text to 7726.

By Prudents·11 min read

October 3, 2026, 10:18 AM·Updated September 30, 2026, 6:33 PM

A man in his thirties standing at a kitchen counter in the morning, holding a coffee mug and looking down at a phone lying on the counter with its screen dark, sunlight through the window

The short answer: filter, block, report

To stop most spam texts, turn on the unknown sender filter on your phone, turn on the free spam filter your wireless carrier offers, and report each spam text by forwarding it to 7726 before you block the number. None of these stops everything, and together they reduce how many texts reach you and how many you have to think about.

It is worth the few minutes. The FTC’s Data Spotlight on text scams says people reported losing 470 million dollars in 2024 to scams that started with a text message, more than five times the 2020 figure, and notes that most fraud is never reported.

When a spam text arrives, this order keeps your options open:

Do not tap the link and do not reply, not even with STOP. The reason is explained below.
Forward the text to 7726, which spells SPAM on the keypad. This reports it to your carrier.
Report it in your messaging app with Report Spam or Report junk. On iPhone this also deletes the message, so do it after forwarding.
Block the number so that sender cannot text you again.
If you lost money or shared information, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and follow the steps in how to report a scam and try to get your money back.

The rest of this guide covers where each setting lives, what each report actually does, and why some texts still get through.

How to filter and block spam texts on iPhone

On iPhone, turn on Screen Unknown Senders so texts from numbers that are not in your contacts go to a separate folder without notifying you. Apple describes it on its page on screening and filtering texts:

Open Messages and, in the conversation list, tap the Filters button.
Tap Manage Filtering and turn on Screen Unknown Senders.
Tap Allow Notifications if you want alerts for certain unknown senders, such as time-sensitive texts with verification codes. The categories vary by country and region.
Turn on Text Message Filter if you want texts from unknown senders sorted into Transactions and Promotions.

The FCC’s new iPhone guide, released in September 2026, gives a second path to the same switch: Settings, Apps, Messages, Unknown Senders.

Apple’s page on reporting spam and blocking senders adds three details that change how you use these tools:

Reporting does not block. Tapping Report Spam, then Delete and Report Spam, sends the message to Apple, or to your carrier for regular text messages depending on the carrier, and deletes it. The sender can still text you until you block the number.
You cannot report a message after you reply to it. That is one more reason not to answer.
Filtering stops working for senders you have replied to three times or more. Apple suggests blocking or reporting those instead.

To block a number, add it in Settings, Privacy and Security, Blocked Contacts, Add Blocked Contact. Apple says a sender cannot find out that they were blocked, and that blocking in Messages also blocks the number in Phone, FaceTime and Mail. Filtered texts are not lost: you can open the Unknown Senders folder any time and mark a real sender as known.

How to turn on spam protection on Android

On Android phones that use Google Messages, spam protection is usually on already, and it is worth checking that it is. Google’s page on spam detection in Google Messages gives the path: open Google Messages, tap your profile picture or initials at the top right, then Messages settings, Protection and Safety, Spam protection, and make sure Enable spam protection is on. Google notes the option appears only if your device supports it.

When it is on, Google Messages can keep suspected spam from being delivered or move it to a spam folder, and it shows a warning on some messages with the choice to report spam or report not spam, which helps both Google and the carriers.

To block and report a sender, Google’s page on blocking senders and reporting spam describes it this way: on the home screen, touch and hold the conversation, tap Block, choose Report spam if the option appears, and tap OK. Blocked conversations move to a Spam and blocked list, and unblocking a contact removes the spam report.

Samsung phones and some other brands use their own messaging app, with different menu names. The FCC’s Android guide covers the general steps, and it is worth reading the description on your own screen before relying on a setting.

Turn on your carrier’s free text filter

The three largest carriers in the United States each offer a free tool that filters or blocks spam texts, and many people have never turned it on. On September 22, 2026, the FCC published step-by-step guides for these tools at fcc.gov/blockit, one card for each phone system and one for each carrier, and suggests following both the phone card and the carrier card that apply to you.

AT and T: the ActiveArmor app has free protections that turn on when you download and open it, with a paid Advanced Mobile Security upgrade. See the FCC’s AT and T card.
T-Mobile: Scam Shield in the T-Life app is included with T-Mobile plans. In the app, go to Manage or Account, then Lines and Devices, then Scam Block, and turn it on. Without the app, the FCC’s T-Mobile card says you can dial #662# to turn Scam Block on. Scam Shield Premium is a paid add-on.
Verizon: Call Filter is included with the plan, and SMS Spam Protection, which scans texts from unknown senders for signs of scams, is free. Both are set up in the Verizon Protect app, according to the FCC’s Verizon card. Call Filter Plus is paid.

The free level is enough for most people. The FCC’s cards list the paid tiers without recommending them, and the agency notes that it does not endorse any of the products. If you use a smaller carrier, ask it which spam filtering it offers: the FTC’s guide on spam text messages lists your wireless provider as one of the three places to filter texts, along with your phone and a call-blocking app.

Macro shot of a thumb resting on the side button of a phone lying face down on a linen tablecloth, with shallow depth of field. — Illustrative scene created with AI: leaving an unexpected text unanswered until it has been reported and blocked.

Forwarding to 7726: what it does and what it does not

Forwarding a spam text to 7726 reports it to your wireless carrier, which uses those reports to spot and block similar messages in the future. The FTC describes it that way, and the FCC’s consumer guide on robocalls and texts says most carriers accept it and suggests checking with yours.

To forward, press and hold the message, choose Forward, type 7726 as the recipient and send. Do not open any link in the text first; both the T-Mobile and the Verizon cards from the FCC say to forward without opening links.

What 7726 does not do

Forwarding to 7726 does not block that number on your phone and does not stop the next text from a different number. It feeds your carrier’s filters instead: the FCC’s T-Mobile card says the reports are used to update the network’s policies. So the answer to whether 7726 works is yes, as one part of the job: report with 7726, then block the number yourself, and keep the phone and carrier filters on.

On iPhone, forward to 7726 before you use Delete and Report Spam, because that option deletes the message. On Android, forward first and then use Block and Report spam.

Should you reply STOP to a spam text?

Do not reply STOP to a text from a sender you do not know, because any reply tells the sender that the number works. The FTC says it directly in its alert on texts from strangers: even a reply that does not continue the conversation confirms they reached a working number, which could lead to more calls and texts from scammers.

Replies can also be the start of the scam itself. The FTC’s Data Spotlight describes fake fraud alerts that ask you to reply YES or NO to confirm a large purchase. People who reply are connected to a fake fraud department, which then pressures them to move money out of their accounts to keep it safe. The same report describes “wrong number” texts where a polite reply turns into a long conversation that ends in a fake investment. And on iPhone, once you reply, you can no longer report the message as spam.

STOP does have a real use. For texts from a business you gave your number to, such as a store, a pharmacy or a delivery service, the FCC’s consumer guide says you can opt out of robotexts at any time and in any reasonable way. Under the FCC’s 2024 order on revoking consent, a reply of stop, quit, end, cancel or unsubscribe counts, and the sender has to honor it within 10 business days.

So the rule of thumb is simple: reply STOP to a company you know signed you up, and send nothing to a sender you do not recognize. The texts that pretend to be your bank are a case of their own, covered in how to tell a real bank alert from a fake one.

Why spam texts still get through

Carriers are required to block some spam texts before they reach you, and others still get through because they come from numbers that look valid or from routes the rules do not cover. The FCC rules that apply today, as published in the Federal Register:

Numbers that should never send texts. Since May 11, 2023, mobile carriers must block texts that claim to come from invalid, unallocated or unused numbers, and from numbers whose owners asked that texts from them be blocked, under the FCC’s first text-blocking order.
Numbers the FCC flags. A second order, published in January 2024, requires carriers to block texts from a particular number after the FCC notifies them, and confirms that the National Do Not Call Registry protects your number from marketing texts as well as calls.
Texts sent from email addresses. The same order says texts that come from email addresses rather than phone numbers are a significant share of fraudulent texts, and it encourages carriers to make email-to-text something customers opt into.

Scammers also change numbers constantly, and they can make a text appear to come from someone else’s number, sometimes your own. The FTC’s alert on texts from your own number is clear that such a text is a scam. How a number on the screen can be faked is explained in caller ID spoofing.

If you are suddenly getting more of them, the FTC notes that tapping a link in a spam text can get your number added to lists sold to other scammers, and the FCC suggests being careful about where you enter your number and checking a site’s privacy policy and opt-out box before you do.

When to report a spam text to the FTC

Report a spam text to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov when it tried to get money or information from you, and always when you lost either. The FTC lists three ways to report an unwanted text: forward it to 7726, report it in your messaging app, and report it to the FTC. They go to different places, so using more than one is not repetition.

The FCC takes complaints about unwanted texts too. Its consumer guide explains that it does not resolve individual complaints, and uses them to guide enforcement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. For sales texts from real companies, registering at DoNotCall.gov is free and, under the FCC’s 2024 order, covers marketing texts. The FCC describes the registry as a list that legitimate telemarketers agree to respect, so it does not replace the filters above.

If you already tapped a link or typed something into the page it opened, the order of what to do next, from the card issuer to changing passwords, is in what to do after a scam text.

Spam texts FAQ

Why am I suddenly receiving so many spam texts?

Often because your number ended up on a list. The FTC says tapping a link in a spam text can get your number added to lists sold to other scammers, and that replying confirms the number works. Scammers also rotate numbers and send texts from email addresses, which the FCC calls a significant source of fraudulent texts. Turning on the phone and carrier filters usually cuts the volume.

Does forwarding to 7726 actually work?

It works as a report, not as a block. The FTC says forwarding to 7726 helps your carrier spot and block similar messages in the future. It does not stop that sender from texting you again, so block the number afterward and keep your phone and carrier filters turned on.

Do spammers know when you block them?

Apple says a sender cannot find out that they were blocked. What does reveal your number is a reply: the FTC notes that even a short answer confirms the number is working.

Will spam texts eventually stop?

They rarely stop completely, because scammers keep changing numbers and routes. They usually drop once the unknown sender filter, your carrier’s free spam tool and blocking are all on, and once you stop replying to any of them.

Can I still report a spam text after I replied to it?

Not with the Report Spam option in Messages on iPhone, which Apple says is unavailable once you have replied. You can still forward the text to 7726, block the number and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.