Scammers reach out to folks in numerous ways. They are searching for victims with the intention of gaining access to personal information or stealing funds. An increase in text message scams is putting people on high alert. Here’s what you need to know about this brazen wrong number text scam!
The Federal Trade Commission, FTC, reported that the percentage of imposter scams that start with a phone call dramatically decreased from 67% in 2020 to 32% in 2023. In 2025, emails and text messages remain preferred methods of first contact by scammers. Per Pew Research, 73% of adults have experienced an online scam or attack. Knowing this, people should steer clear of unsolicited texts and messages.
Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, is warning people about “accidental” text messages. These random text messages are designed to get potential victims to engage in text conversation to gain their trust.
A person will receive a random text message. It might read something like, “Sorry I’m running late, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” Not wanting to be rude, the person who receives the text recognizes that the call is not from a number they have saved on their phone. To be kind, they tell the sender they’ve got the wrong number.
It’s a trick. Scammers are intentionally sending wrong number texts to get a response. Responding verifies that a phone number is active. This likely encourages the scammer to engage with their intended target, the person who innocently responds. Scammers will typically attempt to establish a relationship via text with their potential victim to pull off the scam. Or scammers may add the phone number to a database of active ones to use in future scams.
One woman received a message from a strange number. She wasn’t sure if it was a family member or a friend who got a new number, so she answered the message. This led her to be manipulated and ultimately scammed. In another case, a woman received a message asking, “Are you awake?” She innocently responded, believing it was someone she knew. That woman was tricked into giving out her work address. She also clicked a link that took her to a PayPal scam. The takeaway from these two cases: It’s simply best to ignore or report messages from unknown senders, rather than respond.
People who have responded to unknown messages in the past shouldn’t panic. According to aura.com, “While you can’t be hacked by responding to a text message, it makes you vulnerable to more serious scams and threats that could put you in danger.” Keep your guard up against scams and do not answer any future messages from unknown senders. If necessary, block spam texts using your phone’s built-in features.
Typically, in text scams, after gaining a victim’s trust, the scammer gets the person to share personal information, buy them something, give them money, or invest in something. This is particularly true of romance scams, where scammers lie about their identity and pretend to be in love with their victim. Shamefully, romance scammers often deceive multiple victims at the same time. Scammers frequently ask people to pay them in hard to trace forms of payments such as cash, gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, or cryptocurrencies. Watch this video to learn more: https://consumer.ftc.gov/media/79960
Scammers tend to make up elaborate stories or describe hardships to gain their victim’s sympathy and make them want to help. For instance, scammers say they need money for “an emergency” such as surgery or they offer a great “investment” opportunity. Do not give money to people you have never met. Some scammers will threaten their victims. Report threats promptly to the police.
Per Experian, “These wrong number texts are often the first step in a romance or employment scam. Although there’s sometimes a scammer on the other end from the start, scammers can also use AI bots to target thousands of people at a time.”
CNBC also shares, “AI is making ‘wrong number’ text scams more common, and the best defense is no response, and reporting the text as spam.” They provide some other examples of wrong number texts:
“Hey, how are you?” or “Hey how’s your sore back?” or “Do you have a minute to talk?”
These seemingly innocuous texts often work to get people to respond with “Sorry, wrong number” or “Who is this?” The scammer will then text back to engage their potential victim.
Scammers prey on the lonely to manipulate them. That’s because a person who is lonely may be easily drawn into conversation or be willing to engage in a relationship. Scammers also seek vulnerable victims who are isolated, financially insecure, or looking for emotional connections.
Note that scammers will tell outright lies and put time and energy into building a relationship and trust to pull off their scam. Sometimes this takes days, weeks, and months to build trust before pulling off the scam.
Experts from software company McAfee share that 1 in 4 Americans have received these wrong number texts. Scams can be sophisticated operations. In fact, some are well-organized and well-funded criminal operations that are run overseas.
Wrong number text scams are not innocent mistakes. They are intentionally sent by scammers to exploit people to steal identities or for financial gain. These fraudsters will often lure victims and take advantage of their friendliness, kindness, and politeness. Once a connection is made, the scam is then carried out. People should be on guard for wrong number scams. Don’t worry about being impolite by not responding to a random text message from a stranger. Rather, pat yourself on the back for acting wisely!
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