How To Stop Marco Polo Spam Text Menace

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

Fell for a Marco Polo Spam Text? Stop It With DoNotPay!

The world of social media is dominated by big players like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, but that doesn’t mean that app developers stopped trying to create the next big thing. An app can rise and fall as smartphone users keep looking for new and interesting ways to connect.

Marco Polo is an app that has Stay in touch with the people who matter most to you as its tagline. It’s available for iPhone and Android users, and it leans heavily on video calls. While it generated great reviews on both major app stores, it also witnessed an increase in negative comments for sending out spam text messages and using spoofing.

Marco Polo Text Message Spam Revealed

If you received an SMS from a family member or a dear friend asking you to download this cool app so they can send you a video message, what would you do? Many people go for it since the text came from a seemingly trustworthy sender. That response is not the best course of action when it comes to Marco Polo.

Once you install the app, it will gain access to your contacts and use it for their aggressive marketing purposes.

Many users reported that their friends and acquaintances got bombed by spoofed messages with their names. The text usually includes an invitation to download Marco Polo with a fake promise that the sender left them a video message. Once you download it and log in, there’s no trace of the message. The supposed sender is not informed and only finds out when people from their address book start complaining.

Fight the Scammers With DoNotPay’s Help

Spam texts like those coming from Marco Polo are inconvenient and annoying. It can be straight-up embarrassing to explain the video message invitation texts to your coworkers or other important contacts from your phone. While they’re not meant to cause any financial harm, these messages can also be the target of spoofing by real scammers and create serious damage.

Scammers who want to get your credit card details can spoof Marco Polo texts and have you click on the link that leads to a fake website asking you to enter your credit card details. If that happens, DoNotPay can help you turn the tables on them and even get compensation in the process:

  1. Set up your DoNotPay account in a
  2. Log in and choose Robo Revenge
  3. Click on Create Your Card to get a virtual credit card that is not linked to your bank account
  4. Type in the virtual credit card details on the fake website from a spoofed Marco Polo text
  5. Get the scammers’ identity when they try to charge the card
  6. Sue them with DoNotPay’s assistance

This method will work on all kinds of spam containing malicious links targeting your sensitive financial information:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Spam Text Protection

The more you know about the protection from text spam, the better. By following these simple rules, you will be able to prevent the issues before they happen:

DO's

DON’Ts

Get good antivirus software for your smartphone and consider a paid option for total protection

Don’t act on instructions from text messages—verify them with the sender in some other way, if possible
Ensure your number is on the National Do Not Call list

Don’t click on links that contain typos or domains that differ from the original website

Check what number the suspicious text message came from even when it uses a familiar name

Don’t panic if you click the link from a text message accidentally—disconnect from the internet and back up your phone
Report spam texts to 7726 for all major carriers

Don’t believe too-good-to-be-true scenarios

How To Stop Marco Polo Text Spam

Clicking on a link from a Marco Polo text message most probably won’t cause much harm. The app is legitimate even though their privacy policies leave a lot to be desired. One of the users left a comment on Techcrunch how he was tricked into downloading the app by a spoofed text from his mother. It even started with a private nickname she uses for him.

This example alone can be the cause for concern and motivate you to look for ways to block Marco Polo spam texts. Some of the most efficient methods include:

  • Texting back STOP
  • Blocking text messages on iPhone and Android phones
  • Using alternative apps to block SMS messages

Stop Marco Polo App Spam Texts by Texting Back

If a business or a service that sends unsolicited text messages is legitimate, they will offer you a way to unsubscribe from such notifications. In most cases, you can stop the promotional SMS messages by replying STOP to the last message you received. According to Marco Polo’s Terms of Service, you can also text STOP to 60571 at any time.

While this method should demonstrate your clear lack of interest in the said company, sometimes it can create more problems. If the number the message came from is spoofed, you will be risking more unsolicited messages because replying to such a thread means your phone number is active.

For that reason, always Google the phone number before replying STOP to make sure it’s related to the company which promotions you want to avoid.

Block Marco Polo Spam Texts on your iPhone or Android

In case texting back doesn’t unsubscribe you from annoying Marco Polo messages, you can use your iPhone’s built-in options:

  1. Open the messaging app and tap on the message you want to block
  2. Hit the contact icon at the top of the page
  3. Choose info from the list of options
  4. Tap the arrow on the right (iOS 13) or info again (iOS 14)
  5. Select Block this Caller

A similar process is used in older iOS versions.

Android users have a similar option at their disposal as an efficient way to stop unwanted text messages:

  1. Open the app you use for messaging and the message you want to block
  2. Hit the three dots in the upper right corner
  3. Select Block contact
  4. Choose Delete conversation to remove the message (optional)
  5. Confirm by tapping Block one more time

While different smartphone brands powered by Android might include slightly different steps, the general method is the same.

How To Fight Marco Polo Spam Texts With Other Apps

Installing some of these third-party apps on your smartphone can provide additional protection and help you eliminate annoying spam:

App

Price

Features

Robokiller

$3.99 per month/$29.99 per year

  • Available for iOS and Android
  • Seven-day free trial
  • Spoofing protection
  • Personal block and allow lists

SMS Shield

$0.99 for one month

$3.99 for six months

$5.99 for one year

  • Available for iPhone only
  • Automatic spam filtering
  • Frequent traveler mode

TrueCaller

$4.49 per month or $29.99 per year

  • Available for iOS and Android
  • Blocks unwanted callers and SMS
  • Gets the ID of the unknown sender

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