How concerning is a threatening text message from an unknown number?

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glitterjorts@reddit

Are you a woman? I would take it seriously and report it. I’m a woman and there’s no such thing as overreacting to something like that. Stay safe ❤️

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chronicles_of_bean@reddit (OP)

I am. That's the main reason I felt unsettled, I'm 27 and I have a toddler daughter. We're always going out and about Thank you for the reassurance ❤️

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repair-it@reddit

Only just seen your response - absolutely report it, it's harassment and not acceptable.

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RayaQueen@reddit

100% this. Call 101 now and make a report. They will take it seriously. There is no minimum threshold for this sort of thing. Probably a prank but always always report it.

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JennyW93@reddit

You say that, but when I was literally followed and harassed for 18 months the police wouldn’t lift a finger because I didn’t know the man’s name so he can’t have been a threat.

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RayaQueen@reddit

Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that. That's not good. I'd be contacting the MP/police commissioner/BBC even.

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They take it seriously on 101 so still get this logged as evidence but they are extremely unlikely to do anything without direct threat to safety. Even then it’s touch and go to be completely honest. Definitely report OP but please be aware there’s a minimum threshold for them to act.

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Terrible-Group-9602@reddit

Absolutely call 101 right away

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glitterjorts@reddit

I know how you feel, I have two under 5 and I feel anxious even without getting a text like that. I was googling ring doorbells earlier for that reason 🫠 maybe that would help you feel safer too if you don’t already have one?

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Mc_and_SP@reddit

Heck, even as a man I'd be pretty rattled by this and would report it.

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repair-it@reddit

I'd check out the number online if you can, but it is unsettling, and I'd be all for alerting the police.

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Mediocre_Shallot1659@reddit

My childish brain would want to message them back asking why, or something like "Ooooo a mystery stalker" or something of that ilk. But my sensible brain will just block and delete. If your number isnt in my contacts then you will never get a reply.

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Basis_Safe@reddit

Save the number and check WhatsApp profile pic if they have one. I always do that with unknown numbers

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chronicles_of_bean@reddit (OP)

that's brilliant, thank you I had a look, it's a random twenty-something guy, not anyone I know

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This-Blackberry6675@reddit

You'd have to be proper thick to send a text from a number thats tied to your WhatsApp account that has your actual face on it and possibly your name. If it was me I'd have no WhatsApp on that number or fake profile. I think either the profile is fake, your stalker is a moron, or both

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rice_fish_and_eggs@reddit

Have you met people?

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Green_List@reddit

People - what a bunch of bastards

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brokenlandmine@reddit

r/unexpecteditcrowd

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WeMoveInTheShadows@reddit

There are ways of spoofing numbers these days. A year or so back I had a missed call from a random mobile. I called it back and got no answer. A few hours later the number called me again and when I answered it was a woman who said she was returning my call. I said I'd returned their call and she said she'd definitely not called me - she told me she was a teacher and had been in school all day with her phone off. I'm pretty sure someone had spoofed their number to call me for scamming purposes.

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whippet_mamma@reddit

Thus happened to me with loads of numbers for over a year, i always rang back and people all over uk with really random accents soinding so confused! Its stopped happening now.

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trequartista811@reddit

You'll be surprised at how thick some people are, I remember getting some WhatsApp calls from a foreign number, I never answered, profile picture was a cute blonde woman. And I blocked it instantly, when I check that number, it's still sat there in my WhatsApp blocked numbers as I never bothered deleting it and there's a profile picture of a bloke who looks like Bert from Sesame Street 🤣 I'm thinking it was a scammer using his actual number , as that profile picture hasn't changed

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Nervous-Economy8119@reddit

Screenshot the picture and send it to them.

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I-Spot-Dalmatians@reddit

Reverse image search and see if you can find his name? If you can do that then you can flip it on him completely. “Hello [john smith], I’m sure the police would love to know that”

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SSadornments@reddit

Unfortunately they've really limited results for people

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Exact-Put-6961@reddit

Check number on ""Who called me uk" That may tell you if number has been. harrassing others

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Creepy-Brick-@reddit

On mobile numbers I always check WhatsApp, and then “who called me” for everything else.

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SnooStrawberriez@reddit

One such message is likely to be a case of a wrong number. I could imagine a scenario where one car is guiding another car to a place, perhaps for work, and they’re communicating by message. All it takes is one wrong digit. Stalkers, by their very nature, are not able to let it be with just one message. Chill out

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Obvious-Water569@reddit

Seeing as you've never had any falling outs with anyone and generally keep yourself to yourself, coupled with the fact you don't recognise the person's WhatsApp picture, I think this is probably a wrong number.

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Suspicious_One_428@reddit

These scenarios are very likely to come from a known contact of the female victim. So if you are a woman, think of your whole circle, friends, ex boyfriends and so on.

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Accomplished_Sky8077@reddit

go on youtube and find police chatter video . play video \*67 call them back and let them here what they think is police chatter for a few seconds and then hang up.

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exkingzog@reddit

Almost certainly a scam. Don’t engage.

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glitterjorts@reddit

What would the scam be if there’s no link? Even if there’s a way to scam people by getting them to call the number back (?) I can think of friendlier messages to try and entice someone to do that. “I’m following you” is a batshit way to get someone to engage

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PooCube@reddit

I’ve heard of scams like this where the person texts you saying let’s say the convo goes like this: (S-scammer, P-person) S: I know where you live P: how? S: I’ve followed you home P: fuck off S: I’m gonna hurt you tomorrow unless you pay me £300 Etc etc If something they say doesn’t work they just abandon the conversation and move onto a different random number

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Cool_Doubt2152@reddit

You can report threatening text messages online to the police. I know it’s not ‘threatening’ in its content but I would do it for peace of mind, and if they contact you again and it gets any worse you at least have a record. Don’t reply, but just block the number.

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RayaQueen@reddit

It absolutely is 100% threatening. Also don't block the number. Just mute it. If it's not nothing you want to be asked to save any messages etc.

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Cool_Doubt2152@reddit

I meant in terms of it not being a direct threat as the police define it (which is intent to harm, or cause financial loss like theft etc) which may put people off reporting it, but in this instance I would report it regardless.

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RayaQueen@reddit

You're speaking about a different offence, broadly, 'Threats'. This is stalking which is also a crime and is taken very seriously. Even if no action can be taken, having a report is essential. Even if it's a 12 year old, if they're doing it to twenty people and everyone reports it, the police can do something.

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trequartista811@reddit

Pixel phones have a pretty nifty call screening feature too, if you get a call from a number you don't recognise , you press a button and the AI assistant will start talking to the caller instead while you can see the actual conversation in text form on your phone.

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ProlapseProvider@reddit

Report it to the police. They likely will do very little, but they could create a file on their system to log the incident. That means they will have your details on record so if something happens again or something more serious happens then they have your details at hand when you call rather than having to start from scratch. But yeah, it's probably just some idiot being a wanker.

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gpowerf@reddit

This happened to me once many years ago and I went to the police. They took it seriously and I got a positive result.

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lostinlife-123@reddit

Report it if your worried, but they wont investigate, atleast you'll have it on record. Screen shot the message and whats app pic if they have one. Its likely someone being stupid. If you know any bell ends, its probably them, but could just as easily be a random prank. Might be hard if your an anxious person, but just try and forget about it.

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Ok_Abbreviations8394@reddit

Maybe they meant on Instagram

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pixelunicorns@reddit

Are you the type of person that has the same routine every day? Like going for a run, dog walking, routes to work, etc. I'd personally consider changing my routine a little, and would certainly tell someone. I doubt the police would do much, but letting friend or family know is advisable. Remind yourself it could be a prank or scam, but caution doesn't hurt.

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Icy-Astronomer-8202@reddit

It's probably spam. I'd block and report

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JeffBroccoli@reddit

You can report it if you want. Likely just a prank text or scammy bullshit. I wouldn’t pay it much attention

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just_unacceptable_me@reddit

That is creepy. I would get another sim card and try call the number

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