Did you receive a political SMS text in April? You weren’t alone. In the lead up to the Australian election in May, our detection of spam and scam messages reached a high for the year, with election spam messages making up over one third of the total. Read on to find out if there is anything you can do to block election spam.

What has happened?

In April we saw numerous political parties send text messages randomly to Australian mobile numbers featuring their campaign messages. These messages did not include an option to opt out.

How did they get my number?

Unfortunately for us, the consumer, there is a loophole that makes it legal for political parties to send unsolicited text messages without an option to opt out, as political communication is exempt from Australia’s Spam and Privacy Act.

How to stop getting election texts?

While the law legally allows for these messages to not require an opt out option for political text messages, iOS and Android devices both allow you to block a particular number from texting your device. These methods may not block all the messages from this campaign, but it may still be helpful.

You might also want to consider a solution like Trend Micro ScamCheck which includes an in built SMS filter which blocks spam and scam texts before they hit your message inbox.

How to block text messages on iPhone

1. In a Messages conversation, tap the name or number at the top of the conversation, then tap ‘i’ at the top right.
2. Tap info.
3. Scroll down, then tap Block this Caller.

To view and manage your list of blocked contacts and phone numbers, go to Settings  > Messages > Blocked Contacts

How to block text messages on an Android device

1. Open the Messages app.
2. On the Home screen, touch and hold each conversation that you’d like to block.
3. Tap Block > Block.

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Visit your Trend Micro Account to see if Trend Micro ScamCheck is included with your current subscription.