How To Block Text Message SMS Spam

If you’ve started receiving SPAM SMS text messages purporting to be from LloydsBank, Sky or elsewhere, and you cannot report them as SPAM because of the invalid number error, there is a workaround to divert these messages to your existing SMS SPAM box without installing SPAM-catching applications.
I will show you how, using the LloydsBank SPAM SMS text message that has been plaguing me for a while.

LloydsBank SMS SPAM Text Message

The LloydsBank SPAM SMS text message appears something like this in your SMS Inbox.

LloydsBank SPAM SMS Text Message

If you Press and Hold the text message to bring up the options associated with it, you have the option to Delete the thread or Register as spam number.

Register as spam number

Registering text messages as SPAM usually works to divert subsequent messages to your SPAM folder. Unfortunately though, spammers have become crafty and use alphanumeric strings or numbers that are too long to be recognized as telephone numbers in their transmissions. This results in the invalid number error when trying to register a number as SPAM. This means that marking that text as SPAM fails and you will continue to receive them in your SMS inbox.

How To Block Text Message SMS SPAM with Invalid Number Error

Open up a thread of the offending SPAM messages to identify a recurring keyword. In the example of the LloydsBank SPAM SMS, there are a few, namely;

• A/C
• Bal
• CR
• DR
• Entries

LloydsBank SPAM SMS Text Message Thread

Return to your SMS text message Inbox and press the Menu button on your device.

Android Menu Button | Often Found On The Phone Itself (Bottom Left) Rather Than The Screen

This will display many options associated with your SMS text messages. Select Settings at the bottom of the list.

Select Settings From the Text Message SMS Options List

Scroll all the way to very bottom of the Settings page. Ensure the Spam settings option is ticked. Then, select Register phrase as spam.
Tip! You can also tick Block unknown senders so that you only receive SMS text messages from people on your contact list.

Select Register phrase as spam & Ensure that the Spam settings Option is Ticked

Click the plus + icon to add one of the recurring phrases that you noted earlier. Then click Save.

SPAM Keywords and Phrases to Block

To block the LloydsBank SPAM SMS text message, I have used the word entries, but I could have used any of the others identified earlier.
It is important to note that:

• phrase and word matches are not case sensitive
• a genuine SMS text message could be diverted to your SPAM folder if it contains one of your entered words or phrases. So choose wisely.

Once you have set-up phrase blocking, it is worth checking your SPAM SMS folder occasionally to check it’s effectiveness. It can be accessed from your SMS text message Inbox screen and by pressing your device’s Menu button, then selecting SPAM messages.