Salmeron Financial

An important PSA to help protect your phone number 👇

The scam du jour: You get a text from an unknown number—and I mean truly unknown, like a 10-digit sequence that more closely resembles a serial number on a microwave than an actual person’s phone. “Hey, is this still you?” or “Jessica, are we still meeting at 3?” Except you’re not Jessica, and you never had plans with anybody today. Or any time, really.

Your instinct is to be helpful. “Wrong number, buddy!” you type back, feeling like a good citizen.

WRONG. You just told a scammer your number is live, monitored, and belongs to someone polite enough to respond to strangers. Congratulations—you’re now on every spam list from here to Lagos.

What you should do: Delete it.

Seriously, just delete it and go about your day.

What you could do if you’re bored: Forward it to 7726 first (spells SPAM—cute, right?). All the major carriers use this to track scam patterns. Does it help? Marginally. Will it make you feel like a digital vigilante? Sure.

Either way, the golden rule is: Don’t. Reply.

After receiving my fourth spam text today—yes, four, before noon—and remembering it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, I felt inspired to share my newfound expertise. You’re welcome. Or I’m sorry. (Honestly, this post could go either way.)

But hey, at least now you know.

(And tell me I’m not alone in this—how many spam texts have you gotten today?)