{"id":324,"date":"2025-03-08T21:01:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T21:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/?p=324"},"modified":"2025-03-08T21:38:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T21:38:59","slug":"tired-of-scam-texts-and-spam-messages-want-more-protection-try-signal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/?p=324","title":{"rendered":"Tired of scam texts and spam messages? Want more protection? Try Signal."},"content":{"rendered":"

Too long; didn\u2019t read version:<\/strong> the messaging platform you use on your phone matters\u2013and there\u2019s a better one out there, Signal, that you should download and install today<\/a>. It\u2019s free, safe, and easy to use. I’m writing this guide because I think we are more vulnerable to scams and surveillance than ever before. I didn’t find up to date guides that made a strong recommendation. Here’s mine:<\/p>\n

Why bother? Scams abound; privacy matters\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Have you noticed that hardly a day goes by without some kind of suspicious message popping up on your phone? Here\u2019s one that gave me pause this week: The subject line: \u201cEZ Pass Toll Violation\u201d was well-crafted, and seemed plausible. We have a car. We use EZ Pass. Could this be legitimate? But then I noticed something off: the sender had a +63 country code (Philippines). The link looked shady\u2013not something EZ Pass would use.. However, it came in as an Apple iMessage, which I usually only get from people I know and trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>

EZ pass unpaid…<\/p><\/div>\n

So I \u201cDelete and Report Spam,\u201d <\/b>after I exerted some minimal effort to stop, analyze, and decided this was a scam. What if there were a better way? One where these types of messages don\u2019t reach me in the first place?<\/span><\/p>\n

Messaging Should Be Simple and Safe<\/b><\/p>\n

Sending short messages is one of the best things we can do with our devices\u2014connecting us with friends and family near and far. The catch? It\u2019s gotten <\/span>more complicated and a bit riskier<\/b>. There are countless ways to send messages: SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, iMessage. But <\/span>not all are created equal<\/b>. While many claim to care about privacy, few actually live up to that promise. Scammers have access\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the big deal about privacy?<\/b><\/p>\n

You might be thinking, <\/span>I have nothing to hide. Who would care about me?<\/span><\/i> But privacy isn\u2019t about secrecy\u2014it\u2019s about control. The reality is that scams and fraud thrive in an environment where messages are easily intercepted, spoofed, or tracked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditional SMS messages? <\/span>They\u2019re not encrypted and can be read by your phone company (or intercepted by hackers).<\/b> RCS\u2014the so-called \u201cnext-generation SMS\u201d for Android? <\/span>Still not encrypted when sent between Android and iPhone.<\/b> WhatsApp and Telegram? <\/span>They encrypt your messages, but they collect data about your conversations\u2014whom you talk to, when, and how often.<\/b> That\u2019s valuable information that companies might sell or governments might demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

We deserve better and a solution\u2013and the good news is that the best solution <\/span>is free, easy to install, and respects your privacy from the start.<\/b><\/p>\n

Say Hello to Signal\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Signal is a messaging app developed by the non-profit <\/span>Signal Foundation<\/b>, built with privacy and security in mind from day one. That\u2019s it. No ads. No tracking. No selling your data. It\u2019s supported by donations from people like me. I chip in $5\/month because I believe in its mission of keeping conversations truly private.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other apps <\/span>might<\/span><\/i> keep your messages private, but <\/span>Signal ensures that even metadata\u2014like who you talk to and when\u2014stays private too.<\/b> Your contact list isn\u2019t stored. Your messages aren\u2019t stored. Unline WhatsApp, Signal doesn\u2019t even know who you\u2019re messaging. In an age of almost daily data breaches and identity theft, these choices things matter\u2013and Signal is a much better choice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Started\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

In order to reap these benefits, you need to be on Signal, and so do those that you\u2019re messaging. As more people use Signal we all become safer. It works on all phones and PCs\u2014iPhone, Android, Mac, PCs. It\u2019s easy to download and install:<\/span><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Go to<\/b> https:\/\/signal.org\/download<\/span><\/a> and install it on your phone<\/b>.<\/span>
\n<\/span> \ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Link it to your phone number<\/b> (this helps others find you but doesn\u2019t expose your number publicly).<\/span>
\n<\/span> \ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Set up a PIN<\/b> (this adds an extra layer of security).<\/span>
\n<\/span> \ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Decide whether to share contacts<\/b> (I do\u2014Signal never stores them, but it checks which of your contacts are on Signal).<\/span>
\n<\/span> \ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Install Signal on your computer<\/b> (optional but useful).<\/span><\/p>\n

Why bother?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

With Signal, you can message people, make calls, and join group chats <\/span>knowing that no one but you and the recipient can read your conversation.<\/b> If you\u2019re in a group, <\/span>only members of that group can see those messages. <\/b>It works just like the messaging applications you already use. If you\u2019re on iMessage or What\u2019s App you already know how to use it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In three plus years of use, I\u2019ve never received a scam text on Signal. The only time I\u2019ve gotten a message from someone I didn\u2019t know, I simply declined the request. It\u2019s that easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Switching to Signal doesn\u2019t just protect <\/span>you<\/span><\/i>\u2014it helps protect <\/span>everyone<\/span><\/i>. The more people who use it, the stronger the network becomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Why should you listen to me? I got my first computer in the 1980s when they still had floppy drives and have been using them ever since. I’ve worked in a range of roles that put technology in the service of humans. More recently, I have made digital products for Consumer Reports. I\u2019ve managed to avoid scams (so far) but friends, acquaintances and family members have fallen prey to increasingly sophisticated scams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For further reading on scams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/money\/scams-fraud\/new-scams-to-watch-out-for-a9334297641\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/money\/scams-fraud\/how-to-protect-yourself-from-scams-and-fraud-a6839928990\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Too long; didn\u2019t read version: the messaging platform you use on your phone matters\u2013and there\u2019s a better one out there, Signal, that you should download and install today. It\u2019s free, safe, and easy to use. I’m writing this guide because I think we are more vulnerable to scams and surveillance than ever before. I didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs","category-tech"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=324"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}