Authentic text messages should include the name and contact details of the sender. You should have given consent for them to be sent, but you may have forgotten, or not have realised.
If you receive a spam text, do not reply or forward it, but delete it.
You can also report spam texts directly to your mobile phone provider, all of whom have collaborated to set up a tool which collates all the information from the 7726* short code in real time. Dialling 7726 (or for Vodafone subscribers, 87726) enables your provider to take early action to block numbers that are generating spam on their networks, and report them to the regulators.
We recommend that you report spam text messages directly to your mobile phone provider free of charge by forwarding them to 7726 from the device they are received on.
‘Which’ also operates an online reporting service for scam texts and phone calls, here: www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-deal-with-spam-text-messages
*7726 are the corresponding numbers for S P A M on a phone keypad
