In early this November, a new and disturbing trend emerged in the United States: The three issues covered by this news source are: bigotry, racist text message spoofing, and targeting black Americans. A string of Mass, unknown people sent nude photos and messages that referred to slavery and the use of black people that caused fear and anger in many states.
This is in connection to an incident that has led to a federal-wide probe as the veil of the misuse of text message spoofing technology is uncovered.
Incident Overview: An Outburst of Racist SMS
Text messages received by victims were very oppressive and raw racism; some of the messages included “You have been chosen to pick cotton at the nearest plantation”. The messages included the recipient’s name and stated the writer would pick the recipient up in a brown van at a certain time. Such terrifying text messages have been received from several states like South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio, and Pennsylvania as well as Tennessee.
USA Today reported that the messages were meant to threaten and bully Black people, via spoofing to conceal the identity of the sender.
Impact on University Campuses: Students as Primary Targets
Most of the recipients of such racist messages were university students, causing much distress and concern within university settings. In South Carolina, several Black students of Clemson University said they also received similar messages and informed college officials about the humiliating texts. The Clemson University Police Department acknowledged the issue, stating:
“We are aware of text messages containing racist language sent to students from unrecognized numbers. Initial investigations suggest these numbers are linked to online spoofing services.”
The university also assured the students that their physical security was not threatened and advised anyone who has received those messages to come forward. Such incidents, coupled with other occurrences in University of Alabama have enhanced coordination between universities and police. (ABC News)
Law Enforcement Response: Federal Agencies Step In
The size and type of threat performance lead agencies such as the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to begin investigations. The FBI has acknowledged the receipt of the racist messages and working hand in hand with the Department of Justice to deal with the issue.
In a public statement, an FBI spokesperson noted:
“The offensive and racist text messages sent across the country are being taken very seriously. We are working with our federal partners to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.”
The vulgar and racist SMS sent across the country are considered very seriously. We are in the process of partnering with our federal counterparts to seek to determine who is responsible and bring them to book.
The FCC is also engaged, given primarily to the cases of spoofing services through which the culprits created a disguise around their identities. This synergy is a bid to stop these messages from getting out there and identify those behind this hate campaign (Time).
What Does It Mean to Spoof a Text Message? Understanding the Technology
Text message spoofing is this process of changing the number of the sender in order to make the message appear as if it has been sent by the person you trust. They tend to use this technology in phishing scams, but in this case, it was utilized to disseminate racist and fast content.
The culprits most probably employed online caller ID spoofing in which individuals are able to change the information that the recipient sees on his telephone screen. This makes it difficult for authorities to track the source of the messages, more so where the services used are based outside the country or through the number stations (WCPO).
Protective Measures: How to Respond to Suspicious Messages
Authorities recommend the following steps for anyone who receives suspicious or offensive text messages:
- Do Not Engage: Do not attempt to respond to the message or if it contains links, do not click on any of those links. Contacting the sender could exasperate the already known form of aggression like getting constant harassment or being a victim of phishing scams.
- Report the Incident: Report the message to your local police or the nearest FBI off ice. From your report it becomes easier for authorities to monitor the spread of the campaign and gather evidence.
- Block the Sender: Make the number unavailable through the phone’s settings. Although this won’t stop future messages of harassment from other spoofed numbers instantly, it will decrease immediate harassment.
- Educate Yourself: Know more about the most likely spoofing strategies and always be wary of unconfirmed or suspicious emails, sms etc. This is the reason why one has to be alert in order not to fall to such kind of attacks.
There Is More Than One Angle to Spy Offense:
As helpful and convenient as text message spoofing is, and as earlier noted, this event shows a perverted side of it – people can use it to embarrass and threaten others with impunity. It has led to increase demand to cover the loophole that allows spoofing services and enhance technology offered by telecoms to prevent spoofed messages.
This has placed legislative and regulatory authorities such as FCC under immense pressure to put in place better measures of combating spoofing. The problem lies in the fact that it is often necessary to use caller ID masking in the right cases, while avoiding its application in the wrong kind of scams or hate campaigns.
Conclusion: A Call for Action Against Malicious Spoofing
This racist spoof text messages have created much fear and distress amongst the students in particular the blacks in this country. This wave of digital harassment is a wake up call to the inherent risks of spoofing technology that is not governed by regulation. Given this, people should be abreast of the situation and continue reporting any received questionable messages.
This should act as a wake-up call to technology companies, legislators and the police to crackdown of spoofing than what is currently implemented. With enhanced laws and better technologies in that detection we can prevent people or groups using spoofing tools to annoy vulnerable groups.
