New Scams at a Glance to Help Against Robotexts and Robocalls

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is releasing a new Scams at a Glance resource to help Floridians spot and avoid robotext and robocall scams. According to a recent report, spam robotexts outnumbered spam robocalls last year, with Americans receiving more than 87 billion of these texts compared to 72 billion calls. Losses from scams related to automated messages totaled more than $40 billion in 2021. To help Floridians avoid falling victim to scams initiated by these messages, Attorney General Moody is releasing Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Robotexts are now outpacing robocalls, and in many ways these scam messages are more concerning, as they can contain links with malware—leading to hacking, identity theft and financial loss. To help Floridians avoid fraudulent schemes related to these automated messages, I am releasing Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls. This resource is full of information about how to spot scam messages to avoid being hacked.”

Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls includes information about both spam texts and calls, as well as information about spoofing and phishing, how to sign up for the Do Not Call Registry, and how to avoid falling victim to scams associated with the messages.

General tips from Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls include:

• Do not click on links in text messages from unknown numbers, as the messages may contain malware or lead to malicious websites;
• Avoid answering texts from unrecognized senders. Responding to, liking or clicking these messages shows the scammer that the targeted user is active and could lead to more frequent scam messages;
• Never answer calls from unknown numbers, nor provide personal or financial information to unexpected or unsolicited calls; and
• Consider downloading text and call-blocking apps to further prevent scam texts and calls from reaching a mobile phone.
  

To read Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls in English, click here.

To read Scams at a Glance: Robotexts and Robocalls in Spanish, click here.

Scams at a Glance is an outreach initiative, complete with a webpage on the Florida Attorney General’s website, that contains information about common and emerging scams. Scams at a Glance brochures are free and easy to share with all citizens, including seniors or those without internet access. Since the launch of the program, more than a dozen specialized resource brochures have been released to the public. All of the downloadable trifolds are available in both English and Spanish and include tips for avoiding fraud and common scams.

To learn more, visit MyFloridaLegal.com/ScamsAtAGlance.

Report unwanted robotexts or robocalls to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For more information, click here.

Report scam messages to the Federal Trade Commission’s Report Fraud website here.

To report a criminal activity involving malware related to robotexts or robocalls, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center here.

Scams associated with these messages can also be reported to the Florida Attorney General's Office at MyFloridaLegal.com or by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM.