Your phone buzzes.
asserted
phone → buzz → ?
This time, it's an urgent fundraising appeal claiming a campaign desperately needs your help before midnight.
asserted
campaign → claim → midnight
You delete it, block the number and get on with your day.
asserted
You → delete → day
Then tomorrow, another one arrives from a completely different number.
asserted
one → arrive → number
I've been there, and frankly, I'm fed up with it.
asserted
I → feed → it
On The CyberGuy Report podcast, I sat down with George Weiner, founder of PACspam.org and head of the digital agency Whole Whale.
asserted
I → sit → agency
George got so frustrated with the relentless political texts that he created a free tool to help people figure out who's sending them.
asserted
who → get → them
Our conversation revealed why blocking numbers often gets you nowhere, how political fundraising has become a lucrative business and what you can do to fight back.
asserted
you → reveal → what
Join our upcoming CyberGuy LIVE class: 5 Ways to Travel Smarter and Save Money
In this free live online class, Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson will share five practical ways to protect your trip and your wallet this holiday travel season.
asserted
Knutsson → join → trip
You’ll learn how to secure your phone and personal information, find better travel deals, avoid common scams, save money on bookings and use technology to make your travels easier and less stressful.
asserted
travels → learn → technology
No technical experience is needed.
asserted
experience → need → ?
Why blocking political text messages doesn't work
You would think blocking a phone number would send a pretty clear message.
asserted
blocking → block → message
Apparently, political texting operations don't always take the hint.
asserted
operations → take → hint
I asked George why texts from the same political groups kept showing up after I blocked their numbers.
asserted
I → ask → numbers
"Well, you block one number and you've only blocked one number," Weiner explained.
asserted
Weiner → block → number
He introduced me to a technique called snowshoeing, which allows an organization to spread its messages across multiple phone numbers.
asserted
organization → introduce → numbers
A single campaign or political action committee (PAC) may use many different numbers to reach the same people.
uncertain
campaign → use → people
So, even after you block one sender, another number can deliver the next fundraising appeal.
asserted
number → block → appeal
For George, this frustration became personal.
asserted
frustration → become → George
As a father of three, he worries about missing an important call from his children's school.
asserted
he → worry → school
That could be an emergency," he explained.
uncertain
he → explain → ?
Instead, his phone often interrupts him with another fundraising appeal.
asserted
phone → interrupt → appeal
He tried replying STOP, reporting messages and registering for the National Do Not Call Registry.
asserted
He → try → Registry
Yet the interruptions continued.
asserted
interruptions → continue → ?
"I have done it all and I still get these messages," Weiner said.
asserted
Weiner → do → messages
That raises a question I've been asking for years.
asserted
I → raise → years
How did these organizations get our phone numbers in the first place?
asserted
organizations → get → place
How political campaigns get your phone number
You might assume a campaign needs your permission before adding your number to its texting list.
uncertain
campaign → get → list
Unfortunately, political outreach operates under rules that leave plenty of room for unsolicited messages.
asserted
that → operate → messages
Weiner explained how phone numbers can circulate through political donor and voter databases.
asserted
numbers → explain → databases
Campaigns may also combine registration information with commercially available data to identify potential supporters.
uncertain
Campaigns → combine → supporters
Furthermore, organizations can purchase or exchange contact lists, allowing your information to reach groups you've never heard of.
asserted
you → purchase → groups
Voter registration records vary by state, and phone numbers aren't necessarily public in those records.
asserted
numbers → vary → records
However, organizations can match voter information with other databases to build detailed contact profiles.
asserted
organizations → match → profiles
Political donations can create additional exposure.
asserted
donations → create → exposure
As we've previously reported, federal political contribution records can reveal personal information, including your name and address when disclosure requirements apply.
asserted
requirements → report → name
Once your number enters this fundraising network, tracking every organization that holds it becomes extremely difficult.
asserted
that → enter → it
The money behind nonstop political fundraising texts
Here's something from my conversation with George that really caught my attention.
asserted
that → catch → attention
There's a substantial amount of money flowing through the political texting business, and the people sending these messages have financial reasons to keep doing it.
asserted
people → be → it
Weiner pointed to approximately $65 million spent on political texting services during the 2024 election cycle, based on his analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
asserted
Weiner → point → records
…and 108 more, not listed.
The Aporia
