Does restarting help? I am hesitant to do a clean install after receiving a weird text but I usually delete the text and restart my phone.
Even my work phone is starting to get spam calls and texts and I haven’t even given the number to more than 5 people.
It's common where I am to get spam phone calls that spoof Caller ID to match the area code and first 3 digits of your own number, to appear "local" and make you think it might be someone you know.
I tend to get calls in bursts. Sometimes it's the same robocall 3 times a day for a week.
Phone companies also reuse numbers, and their lists of active numbers leak now and then, so even if you get a "new" number, you can still get spam. I don't know how feasible it is for spammers to wardial every number, but it might be possible.
And I think there used to be a bug where certain characters in a text could crash am iPhone, or something to that effect.
Apple has spam detection in the Messages app now. If it's anything like email, spammers will try anything to bypass it, like replacing characters.
So in conclusion, there's not much you can do about it until phone companies fix Caller ID.
I see this technique very frequently too - I have to wonder if this technique work to get people to answer!? Personally if I see a call from a 415 number that isn't already saved in my contacts list, I hang up and block it immediately because the chance it is spam is so high!
I always find it hilarious when the spammers accidentally spoof a leading "+" and I get a phone call from Romania.
From random @gmail.com addresses, right? I've gotten a lot of those recently. Probably because registering new email addresses and sending messages to each carrier's email to text bridge is free.
After Apple fell for the fake news that the attacks were planned on Parler (they were planned on Facebook), their predictable reaction seems to have played right into the hands of attackers.
Fascinating game of chess, but unfortunately normal people are on the losing end. A bunch of exploited devices in the wild is good for exactly nobody, no matter your political opinion.
Apple isn't going to stop enforcing their content policies just because someone chooses to lie about auto-update. Parler absolutely did play a role here due to their repeated and documented refusals to abide by terms and conditions and Apple isn't to blame for rumours that bad actors choose to spread.
You're suggesting that they should refrain from regulating one bad actor which they do control because they would then somehow be responsible for the actions of bad actors which they do not control.
Upgrades should never be irreversible. If something breaks, or a feature you rely on is removed, you should be able to downgrade—preferably to a snapshot which was automatically created for precisely this circumstance.
