CHARLOTTE — People across the country have gotten random racist and offensive text messages and the FBI is aware of it.
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Officials with the FBI said they are in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities about the violations.
The text messages are disturbing.
Students at HBCUs, like Johnson C. Smith University, got the disturbing texts.
“Initially, I was mad. I was just so mad,” said a victim, who didn’t want to be identified.
She contacted Channel 9 after getting the text.
“It just says that someone will be picking me sometime in November to work on the plantation,” she said. “Some other slaves will be picking us up at five o’clock in the morning.”
The text message had a Charlotte area code.
TextNow
Officials at TextNow, a nationwide wireless and text message service company, said at least one of its accounts was used to send the messages.
“TextNow has uncovered that one or more of our accounts was used to send text messages in violation of our terms of service,” an official with the company said in a statement.
TextNow is investigating and learned the messages, “have been sent through multiple carriers across the U.S.”
Channel 9 confirmed that TextNow accounts were used to send messages to people we heard from in the Charlotte area.
The company said it’s working with law enforcement to investigate.
Textnow said it quickly disabled the accounts that sent the messages in less than an hour.
Criminals can get your number through hacks, data breaches, the dark web, and sometimes legally, according to Action 9.
‘I can’t believe this is happening in 2024′
The woman who got the message told Channel 9 that her husband, niece, and friends also got the same message.
“I can’t believe this is happening in 2024, so I was just shocked and disturbed,” the woman said. “Why are we still dealing with this?”
The FBI’s investigation includes reports from South Carolina where a 13-year-old was one of the youngest to receive the message.
“There’s so much hate going around between people. It’s, it’s really sad to see,” said Tha McCluney, a first-year student at JCSU.
McCluney said he didn’t receive the text message, but he’s heard of other HBCU students who did.
“I feel for them, honestly, I think while it’s a sick joke,” he said. “It’s one made in a place of hate.”
Stephanie Briscoe, a clinical mental health counselor, said the racist text messages must stop.
“The noise right now is loud,” Briscoe said.
She offered advice for those who are getting the messages.
“If we respond to the noise, we can ignite,” she said. “Lay low, not react and respond. Lay low. Do not react and respond. We are going to hang on to hope, which is really what we got right now.”
You can report abusive messages at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or file a complaint with the Justice Department.
FBI Statement:
“The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities.”