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Anyone can send use from fedex’s sender id and your phone will put it right in that saved contacts conversation. Both SMS and phone calls need to be upgraded to use secure identity protocols.

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Yeah I never realized that a sender could spoof the number in a way that would make my phone insert it into an existing conversation. I had assumed (foolishly, it would seem!) that getting a message in a thread means it is from the same sender as the previous messages.

I guess this is one reason Apple has verified iMessages when you talk to them. The background is a different color, I think, to signify their verified status.

Blue means it was sent via iMessage, green means it's an SMS. If my wife sends me an SMS, it will be green. The colour doesn't signify verification.

He's talking about verified messages from Apple themselves. They have a grey background and a checkmark next to the sender name.

Oh I see. I don't think I've noticed one of those - are they used in the UK?

I've only seen them when you contact Apple support via chat. Like for warranty service on AppleCare.

They can only do it if they have access to an SMS service that lets them arbitrarily set the sender ID which they can’t do if they’re just connecting via a retail gateway without first authorising the number.

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