When you’ve been getting flooded with spam texts for a long time, your first instinct might be to change your phone number.

At first, changing your phone number seems like a good idea to stop the rush of unwanted texts. It might even slow down the flow of spam texts for a short time but, it is unlikely to stop spam texts for good.

Why Changing Your Phone Number Won’t Stop Spam Texts

Changing your phone number might temporarily stop an annoying spam sender if they are specifically targeting you, but it is unlikely to stop all spam texts. Especially texts that are random and not targeted.

Here are the downsides of changing your phone number:

Losing Your Old Contacts

When you change your phone number, you are cutting the cord with your old contacts. Your friends, family, and colleagues can no longer reach you unless they have your new number.

And, letting everyone know you got a new phone number is a pain. Notifying everyone of your new number takes time, and you have to rely on them to update your contact information in their phone.

If you have considered changing your phone number to stop spam texts, you probably already thought of the obvious hassle that is changing your phone number.

Even if this thought already occurred to you, but you are still so fed up with spam texts that you are considering it anyway - here are a couple reasons why changing your phone number won’t actually solve the problem.

Automated Spam and RoboCalls

Spammers are persistent. While changing your phone number might reduce the spam texts you receive, spammers use automated systems to send messages to a range of phone numbers. Given that being on the receiving end of a spam text is mostly random (your number happened to be in the range of phone numbers they targeted today), changing your number won’t do much to stop this.

Over time, you’ll be right back to receiving just as many spam texts.

It is likely you will still receive spam texts on your new number, especially if your number is circulated online or was leaked in a data break.

So, don’t be surprised if you still encounter some unwanted texts on your shiny new number.

Your New Phone Number Will Receive Spam

If you obtain a new phone number from your cell phone carrier, it is possible that the new number was owned by someone else before you. If the previous owner signed up for text alerts, you might get spam messages intended for them.

When you get a new phone number, all you are doing is trading in your spam texts for someone else’s.

How to Stop Spam Texts Without Changing Your Phone Number

Just because changing your phone number won’t do much to stop spam texts, getting rid of those annoying texts isn’t a hopeless endeavor.

There are still a few things you can do to stop spam texts:

Report Spam Texts

Report any spam texts you receive to your phone carrier. Many carriers have measures in place to block or filter spam messages based on user reports.

When you report spam texts, you help make everyone else safer by fighting back against spammers. Service providers use reported texts from users to block or filter spam messages.

By taking this small action, you contribute to the fight against spam texts and help protect others from falling victim to scams or harassment.

Be Cautious Sharing Your Phone Number

One easy way to avoid spam is keeping your phone number private. Try not to provide your phone number to unfamiliar or untrustworthy sources, especially online.

Avoid entering your phone number on websites or apps if you can. Once you give out your phone number, you have no control over what companies will do with your data. Many people receive spam texts because their phone number has been sold to spammers.

Opt-out of Marketing Messages

If you are receiving legitimate marketing messages instead of randomized spam, look for an option to unsubscribe or opt-out. This can help reduce future messages from those specific senders. If you opt-out, senders are required by law to stop messaging you.*

* This only applies to legitimate companies and marketing text messages. Most spammers do not care to violate the law and will continue to spam you even if you try to opt out.

Use a Spam Text Blocking App

iPhone users can utilize third-party apps to block spam texts. Spam text blocking apps give you extra features to block unwanted spam text messages.

Dont Text is available for free on the App Store. It offers a powerful solution to block spam effectively. With Dont Text, you can set up personalized keywords to determine which text messages should be designated as spam and make sure that important texts are delivered to your inbox.

Download Dont Text to effortlessly block spam texts and keep your phone free from annoying unwanted messages so you don’t have to change your phone number.

Should You Change Your Phone Number to Stop Spam Texts?

Changing your phone number might provide a little relief from spam texts for a short time, but it’s not a 100% perfect solution.

Those annoying spammers will find you eventually, no matter what.

What you can do to reduce spam texts is report the spam, use a text blocking app, and protect your phone number. This is your best bet for decreasing the number of unwelcome text messages.