First it was unwanted calls. Now, unsolicited political text messages are targeting Ohio voters during this hotly contested midterm election, thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars in spending from the parties and political action committees.
You might be receiving political messages urging you to vote for Sen. Jon Husted, former senator Sherrod Brown, or gubernatorial hopefuls Vivek Ramaswamy or Amy Acton.
The worst is when these texts distract you from something you should be focusing on, such as cooking dinner or driving.
WATCH: Tech expert shows how to block political calls and texts to your phone
How do they even get your number? Typically, from your voter records, according to RoboKiller, an app that blocks both spam phone calls and texts.
"When you register to vote, your voter file is public record," tech expert Giulia Porter said. "Usually you provide your phone number, and it is available to campaigns."
Simple ways to stop political texts
Porter says the easiest solution is to text the word "stop" back to the sender, assuming it is not a scammer. (You don't want to reply to scam texts, because it alerts the scammer that yours is a live number.)
"So it is OK if you feel this is is a real political campaign," Porter said. "Then, reply and ask to be removed from the list."
Legitimate campaigns have agreed to remove anyone who asks to be taken off their calling or texting lists.
Meantime, if you have an iPhone, you have an almost-secret text-blocking feature, according to the tech site ZDNet.
On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Messages, and toggle the switch that says "filter unknown senders."
You will only receive texts from people in your contact list.
What about phone calls?
Are you getting unwanted calls about the Husted, Brown, Ramaswamy, or Acton campaigns (or any other ballot issue)?
The easiest fix on an iPhone is to go to Settings-Apps-Phone, and scroll down to Call Filtering. There you can set it to Silence Unknown Callers.
On an Android, go to Settings-Caller ID and Spam, and turn on Filter Spam Calls.
Finally, if you are getting both spam texts and calls, consider an app like RoboKiller or several others. See the updated list of PC Mags recommended apps here, which will take extra steps beyond what your phone offers.
The good news is that the calls and texts will stop in a few weeks, but it is going to be a long three weeks for Ohio voters this year.
As always, don't waste your money.
__________________________________
"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").
Follow John:
- Facebook: John Matarese Money
- Instagram: @johnmataresemoney
- X/Twitter: @JohnMatarese
Follow Taylor:
- Facebook: Taylor Nimmo
- Instagram: @tnimms
- X/Twitter: @tnimms
For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
