Google Messages users are getting hit with RCS spam texts

What you need to know

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

Google Messages users are reportedly getting random gibberish texts that contain strings of characters and seem to show up as encrypted content.

Google Messages provides default end-to-end encryption, ensuring only the intended recipient can read the messages. However, a Reddit post spotted by Android Police 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 likely appear this way because they couldn’t be properly encrypted.

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