Can Someone Hack Your Phone Through Text? Answered

In 2024, cyberattacks that use text messages to trick people into revealing their personal information accounted for 39% of mobile threats. Analysts predict this percentage will keep rising. You likely won’t find anyone who hasn’t received a suspicious text message at some point, so it’s natural to wonder how much harm it can do.

In this guide, we’ll tackle the frequently asked question: Can someone hack your phone through text? You’ll learn:

• • How can hackers use text messages to access your phone?
• • Can people hack your phone through text?
• • Can you get hacked by replying to a text on an iPhone or Android?
• • What can you do to prevent your phone from being hacked?

How Can Hackers Use Text Messages To Access Your Phone?

Hackers often utilize fraudulent text messages to access your phone or get your personal and financial information—a tactic called smishing. These aren’t “standard” messages. They typically require you to open a file/link or download an app containing malware (malicious software) that compromises your device.

Malware comes in many forms, and once it infiltrates your phone, it can:

• • Track your location or browsing activity
• • Steal mobile banking credentials
• • Lock you out of your device or encrypt your files
• • Grant hackers privileged access to your device and its functionalities

To get you to open the file or link or download an app, hackers apply one or more of the following strategies:

1. 1. Pose as legitimate organizations: Hackers will try to trick you into thinking the text message you received is coming from your bank, mobile carrier, delivery service, or the IRS to establish trust.
2. 1. Create a sense of urgency: Hackers will present a situation as urgent to get you to act quickly without thinking. For example, the message may warn you that your bank account is blocked due to suspicious activity and that you need to verify it immediately by entering your mobile banking app credentials.
3. 1. Offer rewards: Hackers will inform you that you’ve won a prize and ask you to complete a form or provide your info to be able to claim it.
4. 1. Trigger curiosity: Hackers will craft messages to pique your interest and get you to open a malicious link or reveal your info.

Can Someone Hack Your Phone by Texting You?

In most cases, text messages alone don’t allow hackers to access your phone. If hackers send you a text message, and you read it but don’t take any action (like opening a link or downloading an app), there’s usually no threat.

Acting on the text message is what allows malicious actors to hack your phone. If you click on a link, download a compromised file or app, or submit a form, you could give hackers everything they need to access your phone or extract sensitive information.

Because of this, it’s essential to take a moment and verify any message you receive unexpectedly. If you suspect a message is a hacking attempt, just ignore it.

Can Someone Hack Your Phone if You Respond To a Text Message?

Some estimations indicate that hackers sent over 19 billion spam texts in June 2025—that’s around 63 texts for every individual in the U.S.

When sending out these texts, hackers don’t expect everyone to reply. In fact, even those who reply can’t be immediately hacked. However, the small percentage of people who do interact with hackers are more likely to get hacked eventually. This is because hackers now know these people engage with unknown numbers and can come up with more sophisticated, personalized attacks to access sensitive information or the device itself.

In other words, merely replying to a fraudulent text message won’t allow someone to hack your phone. The only way a hack can occur is if your reply contains your personal or financial information or any other data that the hacker requested in the original message.

Can Someone Hack Your Phone by Calling You?

Answering a phone call alone can’t hack your phone in most cases. Similar to text messages, calls from hackers don’t represent a threat unless you “allow” the hack by providing the requested information.

For example, hackers may call you and:

• • Pretend to be your bank and request your mobile banking credentials or credit card details
• • Claim to be your carrier’s tech support and ask you to install a new “security” app
• • Impersonate a government agency to get your personal information
• • Pretend to be the Social Security administration and warn you of an issue with your Social Security number (SSN)

If they obtain this info, hackers can make fraudulent transactions, take over your accounts, and steal your entire identity.

Deepfakes are an emerging threat. Scammers can pretend to be your family member, friend, or coworker and ask you to transfer them money or reveal sensitive information. For instance, you may get an unexpected call from your “boss” asking you to complete a money transfer or from your “spouse” asking for your credit card info.

With the rapid development of AI, deepfake calls can sound incredibly realistic, so it’s no surprise that the number of victims of these attacks is on the rise. According to a 2025 report by Hiya, out of 12,000 polled individuals, 31% received a deepfake, and 45% of that group were scammed.

If you’re unsure whether a call is genuine, it’s best to hang up and contact the person who supposedly made the call to verify.

What Can Indicate a Text Message Is a Hacking Attempt?

Determining whether a text is genuine or a potential cyberattack can be challenging because it often mimics authentic communication. Here are some telltale signs that the message you received is likely a phishing attempt or a scam:

What Are Zero-Click Exploits?

Zero-click exploits are sophisticated attacks designed to “work” without you doing anything. This form of cyberattack typically exploits vulnerabilities in your system and extracts information without your knowledge.

Here’s a step-by-step example explaining how a zero-click attack works:

1. 1. Hackers pinpoint vulnerabilities in a messaging app (or any other app) on your phone.
2. 1. You receive a carefully crafted message that exploits this vulnerability.
3. 1. Hackers infiltrate your device thanks to the system vulnerability, often without leaving a trace, so you’re not aware your phone’s compromised.
4. 1. Hackers can now access your messages, call logs, or other information, depending on the type of attack.

Zero-click exploits don’t have to be in the form of text messages. They can be calls, voicemails, and direct messages in popular apps. A recent zero-click attack targeted a group of WhatsApp users. The app’s security team was able to disrupt the attack and immediately notify the affected journalists and members of civil society.

As zero-click attacks require no action on your end, they’re hard to prevent. Considering these attacks are technically complex and expensive, they’re quite rare and typically don’t present a threat to “ordinary” individuals. In most cases, the targets are high-profile individuals or those who handle sensitive information, such as:

• • Politicians
• • Activists
• • Journalists
• • Lawyers
• • High-level business figures
• • Cybersecurity experts

Still, you should be aware that they exist, especially since technology advances rapidly, and it’s difficult to predict how often these attacks will be used in the future and who they’ll target.

How To Protect Your Phone From Being Hacked

Certain precautions can eliminate or at least minimize the risk of your phone being hacked. Here’s what you can do to protect your device:

• • Ignore messages that seem suspicious: Unless you’re sure a text message is legitimate, don’t interact with the sender in any way. This includes opening or downloading files or apps, visiting links, and providing your information.
• • Monitor your device for unusual behavior: Be aware that a hacked phone can exhibit a range of behaviors, from fast battery drain to slower performance and unexpected pop-up ads. You may also notice apps you never installed and calls and messages you didn’t initiate.
• • Use security software: Install reliable security software that can monitor your apps or system for suspicious activity and malware, protecting you against existing and developing threats.
• • Update your operating system and apps: Ensure your operating system and apps are always running on the latest version. This minimizes the risk of security vulnerabilities that hackers could target to infiltrate your device.
• • Choose the right mobile carrier: Opt for a carrier, such as Cape, with robust security and privacy protocols that minimize the chance of cyberattacks and hacking attempts. Unlike Cape, major telco players often rely on legacy architecture and outdated security practices, which have contributed to numerous data breaches that have occurred in recent years, affecting millions of users.

Cape: Privacy Without Compromise

Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier with a unique take on data collection and storage protocols. It was built as a response to major vulnerabilities in U.S. cellular networks. The protocols used by most mobile carriers are trust-based, and malicious actors can easily exploit them to access the users’ data, accounts, and devices.

Cape allows you to take back control over your mobile identity with its minimal trust policies and robust security features, as explained below:

Create Your Cape Account

Minimize the risk of network-level threats by signing up for Cape. To get started, visit cape.co/getcape. You can use any eSIM-compatible device to make the switch.

In addition to unique privacy and security features, Cape provides premium, nationwide 4G and 5G coverage, unlimited texts and calls, and international roaming (for select devices and locations). All taxes and fees are included in the $99 price, so there are no hidden costs to worry about.

To help you maximize your safety and network security, we partnered with Proton, a leading provider of privacy-first technology. All Cape subscribers can get Proton Unlimited or Proton VPN Plus for just $1 for six months.