Call Kurtis: Stop Sexting My Daughter!
Michelle Denin thinks the texts coming to her 14-year-old's phone are totally inappropriate. But she doesn't know how to stop them. And is it legal for a company to start sending your phone dirty messages like this?
One of the texts reads, "My fantasy starts with me stripping down 2 just my red g-string so u can caress my tight round ***."
"It was disgusting," says Michelle, "A 14-year-old girl shouldn't get something like that. I shouldn't get something like that!"
Michelle says the texts her daughter Amber is getting appeared to be from a phone sex line.
"At the end of it, it said 'two free minutes to call.' I was like, 'ewe,'" says Amber.
The message asked to call an 866 number, so Michelle did, hoping to get the texts to stop.
"I couldn't get to a live person. All it would ask me for is a way to pay," says Michelle.
So she hung up. But minutes later, she got a dirty text.
"Put a stop to the company, they shouldn't be allowed to do this," says Michelle.
Are they allowed to do this? The Federal Communications Commission says its rules "prohibit sending unwanted text messages to your wireless phone number if they are sent using an autodialer, or if you have placed that number on the national do-not-call list." Those protections go away if you give the company consent, or if you've done business with the company in the past. Michelle says they've done neither. So she filed a complaint with the FCC.
What else can you do if you can't get these texts to stop? Michelle's provider MetroPCS does not have an option to block texts from certain phone numbers, but other carriers do including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Sprint.
Michelle's message to other parents is to keep tabs on your kids' phones.
"I want people to be aware because there are girls out there that might not go to their moms."
Amber hasn't received anymore spam texts, but Michelle has received two more since we interviewed her. Keep in mind; if you block a number these companies can just call or text you from another.
We could never track down a company attached to the phone numbers in Michelle and Amber's texts. We called one number hoping to learn more and all we heard was a woman's voice saying even dirtier things than what was in the text.
Links to cell phone providers that provide text blocking services:
- Verizon
- Sprint
- AT&T
- T-Mobile
