who is profiting from scam texts – and can we stop them?

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<p>If it feels like you&rsquo;re getting more scammy texts in the past few years, you&rsquo;re not imagining it. Scam texts have exploded since 2020, and the operation behind them has become a massively lucrative industry. Dexter talks to Eric Priezkalns, a self-proclaimed &lsquo;troublemaker&rsquo; in the telecommunications world and founder of the website Commsrisk, about the new technology that&rsquo;s making scam texts easier than ever, what some of the weirder, long-game schemes are after, who&rsquo;s behind these operations, and if there&rsquo;s anything we can do to stop them.</p> <p>Got something you&rsquo;re curious about? Hit us up <a href="mailto:killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc">killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc</a>, or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.</p> <p>Read:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Eric&rsquo;s website Commsrisk: <a href="https://commsrisk.com/">https://commsrisk.com/</a></li> <li aria-level="1">Eric&rsquo;s article on Huang, the boy sold to a Myanmar scam compound: <a href="https://commsrisk.com/17-year-old-chinese-girl-accused-of-selling-boyfriend-into-myanmar-scam-compound-slavery/">https://commsrisk.com/17-year-old-chinese-girl-accused-of-selling-boyfriend-into-myanmar-scam-compound-slavery/</a></li> <li aria-level="1">How to turn off 2g for android: <a href="https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/cellular-security/toggle-2g">https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/cellular-security/toggle-2g</a></li> </ul> <p>Listen + Watch:</p> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Labi Siffre - Bless the Telephone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpy2O6fYiTk&nbsp;</li> <li aria-level="1">A Tribe Called Quest - Skypager: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYc50S23pQY</li> <li aria-level="1">kill switch on YouTube: <a href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8oh6zDRg1zgHkyOfikoeQS7cafAytstv&amp;si=zrCE7MYWVBgmpWqi">https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8oh6zDRg1zgHkyOfikoeQS7cafAytstv&amp;si=zrCE7MYWVBgmpWqi</a></li> </ul><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>