Advice please: someone has sent my DD (aged 10) three suggestive and creepy texts on her mobile phone today…

[wheresmyAga]

What's worrying me is that whoever sent them addressed her by name.

She only has a few names in her address book (all of whom I know well) and only uses the phone occasionally, if she's going to be out for the day with another family/friends and might need to call me.

How could anyone have got hold of her mobile phone number (which she doesn't even know off by heart and has certainly NEVER entered in a children's website or similar), and how would they have discovered her name?

I think I'll contact the police tomorrow, and I'm sure they will advise me to change the SIM card/number.

The 'number' for the 'caller' is not a normal number; it's only a few digits long and the text comes up unusually small.

Has anyone else's child experienced this?

This is the problem with mobiles.
I often get dodgy messages to mine at all times of the day and have no idea why. I am to think this could be a childs.
Change the number.

how horrid. text might have been sent via the internet - hence the small number.

Hope she wasn't too digusted, worth showing it to the police - at least it will be logged in case she gets another one.

Thank you Lilyloo and Madrose. She was a bit shocked, but I've convinced her it wasn't personal (quite difficult considering they addressed her by name).

She needs a phone for family reasons, but I've taken charge of it for now, obviously. I will change the number.

I think you should definitely take advice from the police - persist until you talk to someone who knows how to help. Is it worth mentioning to the school in case any other reported incidents? Any chance your dd has lent the phone to anyone, even briefly? Some stupid prank?

Am sure she hasn't let the phone out of her sight, and the texts seem to me to be the work of a man (he even used a name). I did wonder about pranksters, but unfortunately I think not. It's horrible: somehow this person has violated our privacy and my DD's innocence, albeit via cyberspace.

I will go to the police, and contact the school, Walnutshell; thanks for your input. It's made me feel slightly spooked.

I got a text message yesterday from one of those types of numbers...it said something like. Hi, I've just moved around the corner from you and I've bought lots of sexy underwear, would you like to see it? text 85(whatever). To stop these msgs text blah blah. Msgs cost £1.50 each. err...DELETE

No idea either!

I have no idea how numbers get round etc! But yesterday I had an odd text, had no idea who it was from, showed it to DH and he told me it was because I had bluetooth! Have no idea what bluetooth is, just that DH said someone else had picked up that I was near and they just wanted to chat! We were at a rugby match for goodness sake!

Please check to make sure your DD is not on bluetooth, DH said to me that I shouldn't have it on all the time. - I have no idea how to turn it off!

Will do re bluetooth, Mymatemarmite. Thank you.

It's reassuring to know other people have had similar messages, Solo. Horrible though, especially when a child is receiving them.

mght be worth speaking to the network as short code texts can be stopped we have a block on them on the childrens phones and we also have over 18 content blocked.