2 weeks Ago By Kjersti Maday
FARGO — Are you getting those annoying political spam calls and text messages? You're not alone. Constant political text messages and phone calls, commonly known as spam have increased as Election Day draws near. "It's just annoying as heck," Robert Langdahl, a Fargo resident, said.
"Since Sunday, I've gotten five, so yeah, quite a few," Brianna Winkler of Fargo said. Many people say they're receiving multiple calls and messages daily. "It's really annoying because sometimes you get the same one over and over again," Langdahl said.
Since 2006, cellphone ownership has steadily increased from nearly two-thirds of the population to , in 2024, almost every adult owns a cellphone. That's according to Teresa Murray, director of the Consumer Watchdog program of the U.S.
Public Interest Research Group. "The technology has allowed entities to send out, you know, hundreds of thousands of calls or texts pretty much at the same time, and that is part of what has fueled all of the scams and also all of the annoying, unwanted calls and texts," Murray said. In 2021 a law was enacted to crack down on spam, but Murray's research shows only about half of cellphone companies are using anti-robocall technology.
"The technology it just takes, like just a couple seconds to be able to catch a lot of the unwanted calls. And so for the companies that aren't using it, obviously it's like an unlocked door," Murray said. She said companies such as Verizon and T-Mobile are complying, but the people behind the messages are getting around the blocks.
Murray said anti-robot call technology is expensive and it can be extremely difficult to add it to landlines and in rural areas. The Federal Communications Commission has shut down 15 robo-call companies in the last three years, and Murray predicts they'll crack down on more in the coming years. However, with telephone numbers so easy to find, those companies, and campaigns, can access them, too.
"I just delete them because I know that they're spam. So, I get them, I delete them, don't even really read them," Winkler says. Murray suggests working with your provider to add filters to the calls and texts to prevent them all together.
Also, you can remove yourself from call lists by visiting the Do Not Call website ..
