States are working to combat racist text messages sent to black people across the country

State attorneys general across the country are urging people to notify authorities if they receive one of racist text messages sent out on Wednesday, November 6, to scores of black people, informing them that they had been “selected” to pick cotton “on a nearby plantation.”

They said anyone who received these messages should contact local law enforcement, the FBI or file a complaint with government authorities if they feel threatened. New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered recipients file a complaint with the office’s civil rights bureau, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison urged anyone who received the message to fill out a complaint form with his office.

The FBI said it was investigating the case but would not confirm to NBC News whether it had information about whether the text messages originated domestically or internationally. A law enforcement source told NBC News that multiple FBI units were involved in the case, including criminal, cyber and counterintelligence agencies.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said her enforcement bureau is also working with state law enforcement agencies.

Devereux Adams, 27, of Atlanta, is one of several Georgia residents who reportedly received the messages. While the messages vary slightly in language (some mention President-elect Donald Trump), they follow the same script: “Our executive slaves are coming for you…be prepared to be searched as soon as you enter the plantation.”

“I was just disappointed, scared, because I have no idea how exactly this person got information about my phone. I have no idea how that’s even possible,” Adams said. He added: “I feel like this text confirmed my suspicions about what I knew would happen” if Trump won.

The messages were sent to black people of all ages, including children. A number of colleges across the country, including Ohio State University and Clemson University in South Carolina, issued statements condemning the messages and urging students who received the messages to report them.

Several recipients who spoke to NBC News expressed fear and questioned how those behind the text messages gained access to their personal phone numbers. It is unclear who is behind the mass text messages, what motivated them or how they obtained the phone numbers of some black people.

A spokesperson for TextNow, a text messaging service that allows users to obtain untraceable “disposable” phone numbers, condemned the messages in a statement to NBC News and said the company acted quickly when it learned of the texts, “terminating the accounts in question.” within an hour,” the message says.

Lance Beaudry, founder of TextSpot, another anonymous text messaging service, said a new user attempted to send one of the racist messages Wednesday afternoon, but the company’s artificial intelligence system flagged the message for “language that is of serious concern and could be construed as exploitative.” or forced.” TextSpot said it immediately blocked and banned the user from accessing the service.

NBC News traced the man’s account number to Philadelphia. A call to the specified number went unanswered.

“If it had worked, I’m sure they would have tried to send it to thousands of people,” Beaudry said, “but we prevented that from happening. That’s when we realized this was happening all over the country.”

He added that the company’s alert system was originally designed to detect spam or phishing text messages.

“We rarely see overtly racist comments,” he said, adding that he believes other carriers will use the case to improve their own internal security systems. “I’m glad we were able to play a small role in preventing hate from spreading further.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement that the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation traced some of the messages to a VPN, or virtual private network, in Poland. But the FBI told NBC News that having a VPN from another country doesn’t necessarily mean the text messages are coming from there.

Kumi Wolf of Michigan said receiving the text message was “disappointing and very inhumane.” She is among the recipients who were disappointed by the results of the presidential election and saw the text messages as salt in an open wound.

“I just don’t understand how someone could think that way and want to send out such massive messages to make people feel even more pain than they already feel,” Wolf told NBC News. “I just thought that maybe after the election we can at least figure out how to pick up the pieces.”

Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign spokesman, condemned the text messages on Thursday and said: “If we can find the source of these messages that are promoting this kind of monstrosity in our name, we will obviously take legal action to stop it.”

A spokesman for CTIA, the official trade association representing the wireless industry, told NBC News in a statement that it has blocked thousands of messages and the numbers sending them. The association urged anyone who receives spam text messages to forward them to 7726 or “SPAM” to report them to their wireless provider.

“Through CTIA’s Secure Messaging Initiative, members have identified the platforms that attackers used to send these messages and are working with law enforcement on this issue,” Nick Ludlum, CTIA’s director of communications, said in a statement.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.