Google Messages users hit by RCS spam text messages

What do you want to know

• Google Messages users receive random texts containing strings of characters, appearing as encrypted content.
• Initially reported two years ago, the issue has resurfaced and many users are now receiving messages from outside their area code.
• All of these messages include a link to Google’s support page to resolve decryption issues.

Google Messages users would receive random gibberish texts containing strings of characters and appearing to appear as encrypted content.

Google Messages provides end-to-end encryption by default, ensuring that only the intended recipient can read messages. However, a Reddit post spotted by Android Font shows that people are receiving RCS messages that look like spam.

These messages mostly look like gibberish, with random letters and numbers in no particular order. They probably appear this way because they could not be properly encrypted.

The thread’s original post is from two years ago, but it has recently received many new replies. According to these recent responses, many users are receiving messages outside of their area code. That said, our own Derrek Lee confirms that he received a similar gibberish message, but it came from his own area code.

All messages include the same legitimate link to Google’s support page on troubleshooting issues with decrypting encrypted messages.

For those who may not know, Google Messages uses Rich Communication Services (RCS). It is a safer method of sending text messages than SMS and MMS. Additionally, RCS offers end-to-end encryption for added privacy.

Something seems to have gone wrong as users are now receiving these spam-like messages. To clarify things, there is a difference between the original issue in this thread and what is happening now. The original post was about a user who received a message from a contact that couldn’t be decrypted. When the contact wants it, everything works fine.

This time the messages are from unknown senders and this does not appear to be an isolated case. The texts arrive from various countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Cameroon, Tanzania and many more, according to the report.

At the moment there is not much information on where these messages are coming from, but Android Police believes it could be a malicious spambot. The outlet says this spambot is trying to find and collect active numbers via read receipts, and the gibberish messages we’re seeing could be a problem.