Have you received a text message on your cell phone recently stating that you've won something?

Well, you're not alone.

These text messages can be dangerous and the number of these messages being sent is on the rise.

Angelo DePasquale, of Taberg wondered if other people had been receiving these types of messages. He says he's received several just within the past week and he wanted to get word out. He says that he's worried that there may be some senior citizens out there who may receive the messages and end up becoming victims of identity theft.

SUNYIT Computer Science Professor Dr. John Marsh says that this problem is becoming so big that it is now a big topic of discussion in his classes.

In many of these messages, it tells the consumer to send a text message back, where you would type in "no" or "stop," in order to stop these messages from being sent.

Professor Marsh says it may look like a way to opt out, but in fact, he says in many cases, it's a way to verify to the sender that your number is actually a valid working number, and could cause you some problems in the future.

He says that currently it is best to not respond.

Dr. Marsh says you can forward these types of texts to the word "scam," where there is an agency that keeps track of these, messages. He says it is illegal to do this type of "smishing," as it is called.