Text Message Spam from “G0-Daddy Designs”

Last October, I changed the phone number I have on my Whois address for domain names I acquire and have registered at NameBright. I am using a Google Voice account with “Do not disturb” on since any phone calls or text messages to that number will be spam from businesses who think my “new” looking domain name registrations mean I am in the market for development or design services.

Since setting up this Google Voice account, I have had over 1,000 phone calls with a bunch of voicemails and text messages. Having the Google Voice account has really helped reduce the volume of unsolicited calls and texts.

The other day, I took a look at my Google Voice account to make sure I did not miss anything important (I did not). What I noticed wasn’t a big surprise, but it is noteworthy. Many of the text messages seemed to imply that the sender was associated with GoDaddy. Have a look at the screenshot below with the “G0-Daddy Designs” references:

I think it is pretty clear that these unsolicited messages aren’t related to GoDaddy, and I am quite sure GoDaddy did not authorize anyone to use its brand name to sell services. I believe companies harvest contact information from what appear to be new registrations. Since GoDaddy is the most well-known registrar brand, they try to get customers by making them think they are affiliated with GoDaddy.

There are a ton of webpages online that reference the amount of spam sent by GoDaddy. While I am sure GoDaddy does have a variety of marketing campaigns, this kind of text message and possibly voice message spam is not related to the company.