How to Stop Spam Texts on iPhone

The same package notice, wrong-number opener, or job offer keeps arriving from a number you have never seen. Blocking each sender feels like the answer, but spam is sent from a rotating pool of numbers and short codes, so the next message comes from a different one. Filtering and reporting cut the volume in a way that blocking alone cannot.

Block the sender

Open the message, tap the sender's number or name at the top, tap Info, then scroll down and tap Block this Caller. That stops calls, texts, and FaceTime from that number. Use it for a sender that keeps coming back from the same number.

Report the message as junk

Under a thread from a number that is not in your contacts, a Report Junk link appears below the message. Tapping it sends the message and the sender's number to Apple and, on most carriers, to the carrier as well, then deletes the thread from your phone. Reporting is what feeds the filters that catch the next batch.

Filter unknown senders

Open Settings, Apps, Messages and turn on Filter Unknown Senders. Messages from numbers that are not in your contacts move to their own tab in the Messages list and stop sending notifications. On newer iOS versions the same screen offers Screen Unknown Senders, which holds those messages for review before they reach the main list.

Forward the message to 7726

Forward the text to the short code 7726, which spells SPAM. The carrier replies asking for the sender's number; send that back. Carriers use these reports to block the sending numbers at the network, and most also offer a free spam-blocking app or setting worth turning on.

Never reply and never tap the link. Replying, including replying STOP to a message that is real spam rather than a legitimate marketing list, confirms the number belongs to a live person and raises the value of the number to whoever is selling it. Delete instead.

Filtering beats chasing numbers. Expect a slow decline rather than a clean stop. Reporting and filtering keep the flow out of sight while blocking one number at a time never catches up with a sender who changes numbers daily.