The state of Florida has issued a Consumer Alert warning Floridians of the rise in robotexts

 The state of Florida has issued a Consumer Alert warning Floridians of the rise in robotexts.

Robotexts have existed for a while, but with Americans on track to receive 86 billion automated text messages nationwide this year, robotexts are now more prevalent than robocalls. 

Based off recent trends, Floridians alone are expected to get nearly 5 billion robotexts this year, making Florida one of the most spam-texted states in the nation.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said the automated text messages are potentially more dangerous than robocalls since malicious links can be clicked on directly in a text.

The links often contain malware that can be instantly downloaded to a phone showing the scammer that the phone number is active and making the targeted user vulnerable to further messages.

The Federal Trade Commission runs the National Do Not Call Registry—a list that a citizen can sign up for to help eliminate telemarketing texts and calls to a phone.

Signing up for the registry allows a citizen to report unwanted calls to the FTC after being on the list for 31 days.

Violators, or those who call someone on the National Do Not Call List, can be fined per call.

You can register for the National Do Not Call Registry by visiting DoNotCall.gov or calling 1 (888) 382-1222.

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