OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Atoch Akuen, like many 19-year-olds, uses his cell phone to browse social media and talk to friends.

A text message from a random number on Wednesday night frightened and unsettled him.

“I read it and I was shocked. I froze. I didn’t know what to do,” she told 6 News.

Some of the text messages that appeared to target black people across the country were reportedly personalized.

It wasn’t Akuen’s.

“After my colleague saw the message, he put the number in Cash App and we tried to find out who the number might belong to but it didn’t show. “We tried to call the number, but it did not reach us,” Akuen said.

Douglas Wesselmann told 6 News his 19-year-old grandson also received a similar message.

“My grandson… is Asian and Black. She is of mixed race and a very proud young lady. But I was pretty upset about it,” Wesselmann said.

6 News called and texted every number but received no response. The source of the text messages remains a mystery.

“How did they get this message with all the information that only Black students and Black people can get? “There shouldn’t be a way for them to be able to do this,” Akuen said.

But what is not mysterious for Wesselmann is the existence of racism.

“This makes me sad and angry. “And you know we can be much better than this,” he said.

FBI says they are aware of these text messages They are in communication with the Department of Justice and other federal officials.

Anyone who receives one of these messages is encouraged to report it to local law enforcement. People can also report spam messages to: Federal Trade Commission.

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