- never signed up for anything like this,
- never donated to or signed up for emails from the DNC, et al.,
- political texts like this come all the time, and
- I hesitate to reply “stop” because I don’t want them to know this is a live number (is my instinct here outdated/inapplicable?)
Pretty sure they won’t keep messaging me after I blocked their number and reported spam
True, but if you get a new phone and your blocked numbers list is reset, or they send messages from a different number, then you could get them again in the future. I see this often because there are multiple people in that campaign that will all reach out to people with their own phone numbers. Opting out prevents that for legitimate donor campaigns (you are removed from the list for all of the solicitors associated with that campaign), but obviously not for scams. There is no harm in doing both, and I would recommend that (it’s what I do).
It’s ALLLLLLWAYS new numbers and my long-curated block list already has hundreds of numbers.
In that case, you’re best off opting out and seeing if it works. If you get a text from the same group at a later date, then you can report them to the FTC. Please do not do this unless they do not honor your opt out request, as politically affiliated groups are legally allowed to market in this way so long as they provide a means to opt out of communication. Falsely reporting puts strain on the already incredibly underfunded system and prevents real scams from being caught and dealt with due to a lack of resources. I recommend you keep a list of groups you have opted out from that is easily searchable to track this. 4 years ago I got multiple of these texts per day. I have been opting out every time I receive one, and now I have not gotten one in over 2 years. Eventually you will run out of groups to opt out of, and will only be messaged by newly created groups, which will happen much more slowly than all of the groups constantly texting/calling.
Beyond that, there isn’t really much you can do. Your number is on a list, and people are buying that list. Although you could see if putting your number on the national do not call list would help (EDIT: though apparently political organizations are exempt from that on further reading). I have not done this personally, but I came across it while looking up how to report scam texts. Perhaps it could be beneficial to you (who knows?)
Why would my blocked numbers list reset?
New phone, new carrier, new sim card, wiping your phone to refresh it. If you haven’t specifically backed up your blocklist and imported it then it could reset.
I can see you have never owned an iPhone before.
Why am I supposed to assume you own an iPhone? I’m trying to list out all the potential cases in general for you and for other people. If you switch from Android to iOS or vice versa this would be the case. Seamless backup solutions aren’t exclusive to Apple either.
Mine reset when I switched phones a couple months ago, and I had to manually add them to my new phone. If I hadn’t noticed, then my blocked numbers list would be empty. Not saying that is a common issue, but it doesn’t hurt to opt out before blocking; just don’t click any links or say anything other than the opt out keyword.
They have an iPhone, so they are going to be fine.
I thought this was the best course of action, too. It was not. New numbers, seemingly infinite, keep spamming me. They are political, seemingly real Democrat-linked entities (but I’m skeptical because this spam is obviously a brain-dead idea). After replying “STOP”, they definitely slowed.
Blocking numbers is only useful against actual consumer numbers where there’s a real person with a SIM card on the other end.
Bulk calls/texts use number pools, and those pools don’t tend to be reused after a campaign; they’re just rented out to someone else.
So does replying “stop” apply to the number that texted you, or to the whole company?
Depends. Usually it applies to the campaign. Sometimes it applies to the company. Sometimes it just gets you flagged as a responsive human.
For things that look legit, for example seasonal political campaigns, and include in message something like “reply STOP to quit”, replying “STOP” does usually end it quickly. Recommended.
Should be one of the first things any anti-spam app/feature should be doing. Wish it was automated into OS spam defenses, then the “responsive human” worry would be eliminated.