PITTSBURGH — A local woman contacted Channel 11 after she said she continually received strange text messages from a stranger who knew too much about her.
The woman, identified only as Jane, said she received several text messages from unknown numbers, but the texts contained personal information about her.
“It made me feel like somebody just invaded my personal life,” Jane said.
Jane said telemarketers are one thing, but the text messages caused her real concern.
“They sent me, ‘Hey gorgeous.’ Almost immediately, I said, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know who this is. You have the wrong number,’” Jane said.
According to Jane, the text messages were coming from a random number with an 805 area code in California that might be linked to an anonymous text messaging service.
“They mentioned my name, question mark. They asked if I was still single. I said, ‘I don’t know who you are,’” Jane said. “I was literally wondering who this person was. Did they know where I live? It was frightening that they knew my name and personal things.”
Jane said she went online to investigate.
“I found this number has been texting people in not only Pennsylvania, but Texas, Illinois and Indiana. So, it’s been all across the country,” Jane said.
Jane said if you try to call the number, it doesn’t work
Channel 11’s Vince Sims reported there are several websites that will allow you to report a harassing number. You can also program your phone to block unknown numbers.
The FCC recommends you not respond to unwanted texts, and contact your cellphone provider about options for blocking texts from certain numbers.
WPXI
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