Verizon customers spammed with phony texts that link to Russian propaganda

Messages app on iPhone
(Image credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Verizon customers have been receiving suspicious spam texts in recent days that appear to be coming from their own phone numbers, USA Today reported Tuesday.

Kristofer Goldsmith, the CEO of private intelligence firm Sparverius, tweeted Tuesday that the texts, which purport to offer customers a free gift, contained "disguised link[s]" to "the live feed of Russian propaganda website '1TV.'" Several posts on Reddit and on a Verizon forum confirm that the link does lead to 1TV.

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Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.