Should You Reply STOP to a Spam Text? When It Works and When It Backfires

Two kinds of unwanted text, and two different answers

A text you didn't ask for is one of two things. Either it comes from a business that has your number and some form of consent you gave, perhaps a store alert or appointment reminder you signed up for years ago, or it comes from a sender you have never dealt with. The right reply is opposite in the two cases. For the first, STOP is a legal right with a deadline. For the second, the FCC says not to reply at all.

The FCC's consumer guide sets the baseline: autodialed texts to a mobile number need the owner's consent, commercial texts need written consent while informational ones may rest on oral consent, and the rules apply whether or not you have registered your number on the National Do Not Call Registry (FCC).

When STOP works: the FCC's revocation rule

Under 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), a person may revoke consent to robocalls and robotexts by any reasonable method. Replying with the words “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel” or “unsubscribe” counts as a reasonable method on its own. Other wording must also be honored if a reasonable person would understand it as a request to stop. The sender has a reasonable time to comply that may not exceed ten business days, and senders of texts may not designate one exclusive way to opt out.

The sender may send one confirmation text, but only to confirm the opt-out with no marketing, and only as the one additional message. If it is sent within five minutes it is presumed to be covered by your earlier consent (§ 64.1200(a)(12)). The FCC adopted the rules in its 2024 TCPA consent order, and compliance was required from April 11, 2025. The FCC separately waived one piece, the requirement that a STOP to one type of message end all unrelated messages from that sender, until April 11, 2026 (DA 25-312). We did not confirm the current status of that piece, so reply to each sender separately and keep a screenshot.

Florida adds a twist. Before suing for damages over text solicitations, a called party must first reply “STOP” to the sender, and the sender then has 15 days to stop (Fla. Stat. § 501.059(10)(c)). In Florida a STOP is also the first step toward a claim.

If texts continue after ten business days from a sender you had consented to, keep the screenshot with its date and report it to the FCC and FTC. Our TCPA guide covers consent and your remedies.

Other ways to revoke consent, and keeping proof

STOP is not the only way. Under § 64.1200(a)(10), any reasonable method counts, and a reply in other words must be honored if a reasonable person would understand it as a request to stop. A voicemail or email sent to a number or address intended to reach the caller is covered by § 64.1200(a)(11): if you can show you made the request, it creates a rebuttable presumption that you revoked consent, and a totality-of-circumstances test decides whether the sender can show it was not conveyed reasonably. Keep what shows the date and the number, such as a screenshot of the STOP reply, and note when you sent any email.

Some messages need no consent in the first place. The FCC exempts certain informational calls and texts, such as package-delivery notices, from the consent requirement. For those, the 2024 order cut the time to honor an opt-out from 30 days to a reasonable time not exceeding six business days (Federal Register, paragraph 13). The FCC has also confirmed that a revocation made directly in response to an exempted informational call or text is an opt-out that requires all further robocalls and robotexts from that sender to stop (DA 25-312, paragraph 3).

When STOP backfires: texts from strangers

The FCC's smishing advice is direct: never click links, reply to text messages or call numbers you don't recognize, and “do not respond, even if the message requests that you ‘text STOP’ to end messages” (FCC). The FTC explains the reasoning: even a reply that doesn't continue the conversation confirms “they reached a working telephone number,” which could lead to more calls and texts from scammers (FTC). The Michigan Attorney General adds that a STOP reply “tells them your number is active and can then be sold to other bad actors” (Michigan AG).

A scammer is not bound by the opt-out rules, so the reply cannot work the way it does with a business that follows them. The FTC lists the hooks it sees most often: fake fraud alerts from “Amazon” or your bank, unpaid tolls, package re-delivery fees, phony job offers and “wrong number” texts. Its advice is the same for all of them: don't reply to unexpected text messages, never click links in them, and don't assume a text from a known company is real (FTC). To decide which case you are in, ask:

• Did you give this sender your number, and do you recognize the name in the message?
• Does the text come with a way to check it that doesn't use the text itself, such as an account, an app or a company website you know?
• Does it ask you to click a link, give account details, pay a fee or confirm a code? The FTC says legitimate companies won't ask for account information by text.
• Is it an unexpected message from an unknown number that starts with a greeting, a wrong number or a delivery problem? Our wrong-number text guide covers that pattern.

If you can't tell, don't reply. Contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real, not the details in the text (FTC).

Report, block and delete

The FTC lists three ways to report an unwanted text: forward the message to 7726 (SPAM), which helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages; report it in your messaging app's junk or spam option; and report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC). You can also file with the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. Then block the number and delete the message. Steps for your carrier and phone: AT&T, T-Mobile and iPhone.

What the FCC complaint data shows about texts

WhoCalledLookup imports the FCC's unwanted-call complaint file, keeping complaints that name a number. Between October 23, 2025 and October 22, 2026 it held 55,728 such complaints: 29,551 (53.0%) about prerecorded voice calls, 18,416 (33.0%) about live voice calls and 7,761 (13.9%) about text messages, from 6,988 different numbers. Our copy keeps only complaints that name a number, so text complaints that leave the sender blank are not counted. These are consumer reports, not findings about who sent anything.

Text complaints that name a number peaked at 24.2% of the total in 2024 and are at 14.2% so far in 2026. The file does not say why, and we do not guess. Texts are the smallest of the three groups in the last twelve months, but a text is easy to answer by reflex, which is why it pays to sort the sender first and then reply or stay silent.

Sources

1. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)–(12) — FCC revocation of consent rules (eCFR)
2. Federal Register — Strengthening the Ability of Consumers To Stop Robocalls (March 5, 2024)
3. FCC — DA 25-312, limited waiver of 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10) (April 7, 2025)
4. FCC — Stop Unwanted Robocalls and Texts
5. FCC — Avoid the temptation of smishing scams
6. FTC — Why it's not rude to ignore “hi, how are you?” text messages from strangers
7. FTC — Is that unexpected text a scam?
8. FTC — How to recognize and report spam text messages
9. Michigan Attorney General — Text message scams: smishing
10. Fla. Stat. § 501.059 — telephone solicitation (subsection (10)(c))

Related

• Wrong-number text scam
• TCPA consumer guide
• How to report scam calls
• How to stop robocalls

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