What is the "Trump Arrested" text message scam? Viral rumor suggesting one's bank account will get hacked, debunked
A warning related to Trump has recently been circulating on social media, especially X. It claims that opening and/or reading a text message that says "Trump was arrested" can attack a user's bank account and should be avoided.
However, the warnings, which first started on Wednesday, November 13, are reported to be false by Snopes since no screenshot or transcript of an actual text message fitting the description has emerged yet.
Here are the other recent X posts that talk about the "Trump arrested" scam text message.
"If anybody text you anything that says that Donald Trump was arrested, do not open it. It's a direct link to your bank accounts. That's what they're trying to do is get all your bank account information. So let your family know. Send this text to your family." - wrote an X user.
"Fwd: If you get a text that Trump was arrested don’t open it because it will attack your bank account. Tell all your friends. Just passing it along." - commented another user.
"IMPORTANT ALERT! AND SHARE = If you get a text that Trump was arrested don’t open it because it will attack your contacts, info, and bank account if you have any. Tell all your friends." - posted a third one.
Snopes also reported that a similar hoax had started back in October 2016, when a false claim that clicking on a picture of the president would install a virus on users' device.
Disclaimer: The following section has mentions of racism. Reader discretion is advised.
Black students faced racist texts after Trump won the presidential election
While the warning about the "Trump arrested" text message scam is false, other racist texts have been circulating across the country after the recent presidential election.
According to a World in Black article published on November 13, dozens of Black K-12 and college students received racist text messages, asking them to "return to the plantation and pick cotton". All of these were addressed to them by their names.
Two of these messages surfaced in the smartphones of Jacksonville, Florida, where teenagers who attended the city's public schools were its recipients. The authorities had no answer to how their phone numbers were acquired by the sender.
The mother of one of these teenagers - who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons - told the media outlet:
"These racist texts are coordinated attacks aimed at intimidating and spreading fear among Black children and their families. They’re not just pro-racist, they are pro-Trump racist. And that’s even worse."
Another Jacksonville parent, Charmaine Green, told Action News Jax about her 15-year-old receiving similar, disturbing messages, adding:
"I’m fearful because…who knows my son’s information? It’s so saddening that someone would take the time to send this type of message to anyone, let alone a 15-year-old."
On November 10, the FBI released a statement addressing the racial texts, saying it was "aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter."
While the source of all the racial text messages has not been traced yet, some of them appeared to have been sent through TextNow. The company has called the stunt "a widespread, coordinated attack."
TextNow's Trust & Safety Team blocked the source accounts immediately after being aware of it, and is now working actively to monitor patterns and uncover more details to shut down the harassment at its root.
Their AI has flagged all messages with racist language and is subsequently banning their senders from the platform.
According to CNN, an attorney from Louisiana believes that some senders are using anonymizing software to prevent the authorities from tracking down their locations.