You might want to change your phone number entirely. I’ve had to do that myself, as a previous user of my number apparently signed up for all sorts of texts, and got their number exposed badly. Your number may have inherited this nonsense.
If you check your number at this site, then that may confirm things for you
This may be an act of futility. As time goes on, more and more people subscribe to stuff, so more and more numbers will be “polluted” in this fashion.
I have found that legitimate advertising/marketing servers do respond correctly to “STOP” replies. Those that don’t aren’t going to stop no matter what you do anyway.
You can only try it to see if it is an act of futility. You have little to lose if you’re frustrated. For me, it worked.
Is the situation so bad now that it’s an act of futility? When I’ve gotten new phone numbers in recent years, I haven’t found them to be on junk lists yet.
The last time I switched cell carriers, I got a new number and ported the old number to Google Voice. I use the old number like a throwaway email address. I provide that number to most companies when they ask for a phone number. Even though I still get junk texts, it doesn’t bother me as much because they’re not mixed in with the messages I care about.
Getting a new number is my last-resort option. So far, the ‘focus’ system I set up is working for me, such that I’m not getting notifications (other than badges) for incoming SMS texts from numbers not in my contact list. I guess it turns out it was the ‘stop what you’re doing, you have a text’ that comes with the incoming text tone that was really driving me crazy. (It’s all psychology, huh!) As a result of dealing with the spam txts in my own time, so to speak, I’ve been more diligently reporting them and the frequency seems to have dropped. Wishful thinking perhaps, as maybe the spammers are taking an Xmas-NY break. 
I guess when you change numbers there’s no way to pre-screen a new number e.g. with haveibeenpwned.com or make sure it didn’t belong to a complaints hotline. 
Same here. Last time I got a new phone number was 4 years ago. I am very cautious who I give my number to and what I sign up for. And indeed I rarely get spam texts. I’d say that new phone number was still very clean.
So these days, one really needs (at least) two phone numbers: one for all the world-facing companies and apps and subs etc. that require a phone number for signing up/in etc purposes, and one for people whom you actually might want to be in communication with. Per what happened with email addresses, will (do?) phone carriers offer the ability then to have alias phone numbers?
Same here. Last time I got a new phone number was 4 years ago. I am very cautious who I give my number to and what I sign up for. And indeed I rarely get spam texts. I’d say that new phone number was still very clean.
Although giving out your number broadly can certainly increase the odds of it being used for unsolicited messages, I don’t think it’s possible to have a cell phone number unlisted as I do for my landline. Mass spammers are also able to purchase a list of unused numbers from providers from which they can derive a list of used numbers as well as numbers they can use themselves as a fake from number so you can’t determine an origin.
-Al-
I get 7 to 10 spam SMS messages a day. I just checked my phone number on the pwened website and it says I have nothing to worry about. The website doesn’t seem to be correct.
I only suggested it as a possibility. Another is that when you’re assigned a number, that the previous user of that number subscribed to SMS spammers. I believe that was the case with me. As I said previously, I ended up asking to change my number again. That seemed to fix things.
Another possible reason you may be getting SMS spam is the spammers are targeting all numbers in the number range. I only use my cell rarely and don’t give out the number unless absolutely necessary (e.g. when it’s needed for security codes that the server won’t direct to email). I only get a trickle of voice and SMS spams.
Or just bad luck. A number may be “safe” for years and then all of a sudden get spammed to death simply because one telemarketer tries it and after discovering that the phone system didn’t reject the connection, sells it to everybody else.
One of my e-mail addresses (a Yahoo mailbox) is rarely used for anything. It has typically been getting 1-2 pieces of spam a week. Until last month, where it’s now getting 10-12 items a day. They’re all caught by Yahoo’s filters and only appear in my Spam folder, but I never used to see them at all. My usage of this mailbox didn’t change and I didn’t give it to any new web sites.
So what happened? It’s impossible to know. Maybe this is the same amount that were always sent to that address, but now Yahoo is putting them in my Spam folder instead of just deleting them outright. Or maybe one of the few places I’ve used that mailbox got hacked, or decided to sell their customer list. Or it’s just dumb luck.
I created a contact with the company name “Report Messages SPAM” and mobile phone number “7726” for reporting texts.
Yes, the first time the steps to report SPAM are the same as yours.
But after the first time, all I need to do is:
I find these steps manageable. YMMV.
Here’s a great explanation of this report junk feature.
Does anyone care to speculate on whether texts soliciting political contributions are treated the same as other unsolicited texts? In other words, are political messages protected as Free Speech?
During this recent, very busy texting, season whenever I texted STOP they seemed to honor it and stop texting.