Stop the Calls, Part 22: the "pre-approved" text that knows your exact number

"Congrats! You're pre-approved for $47,500. Reply YES and funds can hit your account tomorrow."

It's the exact amount you asked for on one application, three weeks ago. You never gave it to whoever sent this text. So who did?

This is Part 22 of Stop the Calls. Part 7 gave you the one-word reply that ends a text thread, and Part 19 showed how one quote form can turn into four callers. Today: read the dollar amount like a return address.

General information, not legal advice. The $47,500 text above is a made-up example.

Why the amount is the clue

Most of what a broker knows about you can come from public records. Part 4 covered the UCC filing a funder usually makes when it takes your receivables as collateral. But a financing statement only has to name you, the secured party and the collateral (UCC 9-502). It doesn't have to say how much you got.

So when a stranger quotes a specific figure, it often came from somewhere else: an application, a broker who sent your file to several funders, or a bank statement you shared.

The tactic: the amount trace

Do this before you reply. It takes about 10 minutes.

Step 1: screenshot the text. Get the sender number, the time, the name used, and the amount. Don't tap any link.

Step 2: match the amount. Search your email for that exact figure: applications, quote confirmations, brokers who asked for statements. Note every hit.

Step 3: sort it into one of three buckets.

• It matches an application you sent. Your request was likely shared or sold. The site or broker you applied through is your lead.
• It matches a deal you actually closed. Someone has your deal details. Note the funder and the broker on that deal.
• It matches nothing. It may be a guess built from revenue figures, or bait. Treat it as unknown, and treat any link in it as a possible scam.

Step 4: reply STOP to the text. Nothing else (Part 7 explains why).

Step 5: write to the source. If Step 3 points to a site or broker, send this from an email you control:

"On [date] I received a text quoting the exact amount from my application with you on [date]. Please tell me who you shared or sold my application to. Please stop sharing my information, add [phone numbers] to your internal do-not-call list, and confirm in writing. Any consent to calls or texts I gave on your form is revoked."

Log the date you sent it and the date 10 business days later in your call log.

If the text has a link or asks for a fee

The FTC warns that scam texts may ask how much you make or owe, or link to a spoofed site. Don't click. Send the text to 7726 (SPAM), then block the number. See the FTC's guide to spam texts.

If the offer might be real, contact the company at a number you already know, not the one in the text (the Part 20 call-back test).

The rules behind it, and where they stop

• You can revoke consent to robocalls and robotexts in any reasonable way that clearly says stop, and a reply of "stop" counts (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)).
• FCC rules say texts sent to a mobile phone with an autodialer need your prior consent, and commercial texts need written consent (the FCC's guide to unwanted robocalls and texts).
• A UCC financing statement only needs your name, the secured party's name and the collateral (UCC 9-502).
• If an offer is based on your personal credit report, it's a prescreened offer. Opt out for five years at the official prescreen opt-out site or 1-888-567-8688. The FTC says this only stops offers built from the major credit bureaus' lists (the FTC on prescreened offers).
• The National Do Not Call Registry covers personal numbers, not business lines, and a dedicated business line gets less protection (the FTC's Do Not Call Registry FAQs).

None of this promises an outcome, and a licensed attorney can tell you how these rules fit your line. Report unwanted texts at the FTC's fraud reporting site, and unwanted calls at the Do Not Call complaint page. More: the Know Your Rights series and how to stop MCA broker calls.

Your checklist

1. Screenshot every "pre-approved" text before you reply.
2. Search your email for the exact amount.
3. Sort it: your application, your closed deal, or nothing.
4. Reply STOP, and send links to 7726.
5. Email the source, then log day 10.

Coming in Part 23: the "your file closes today" text, and why a deadline you never set is a sales tactic.