UK scam text statistics 2026: how many get through, and does 7726 work?
Checked by TextCheckUK · Last checked · How we check
Yes. Forwarding a scam text to 7726 reports it to your network, and Ofcom says the networks use 7726 reports to monitor scam activity and update their protections. Ofcom estimates the networks block at least 600 million messages a year, and that in the order of 100 million suspicious messages per annum still get through. The NCSC counts 40.9K scams removed across 93.3k web addresses through the 7726 service as of July 2026. Below are the official figures published in 2026 on how many scam texts are blocked, reported and still get through.
Short answer: does 7726 work?
Yes, in the way it is designed to. A 7726 report goes to your mobile network. Ofcom says operators use the reports to monitor scam activity and update their network protections, and the networks received more than 100 million of them in the year to March 2025.
What happens after you forward a text to 7726
You forward the text to 7726
It's free on most networks. If 7726 doesn't work on yours, the NCSC says to ask your phone provider how to report a text.
(NCSC, report a scam text, read 2 October 2026)
Your network looks at it
Ofcom says operators use 7726 reports to monitor scam activity and update their network protections.
(Ofcom statement, 7726 reports (para 3.21 and footnote 9), checked 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026)
Senders and sites are blocked
The NCSC's running count: 40.9K scams removed across 93.3k web addresses as part of the 7726 service, as of July 2026.
(NCSC, report a scam text, read 2 October 2026)
The ICO can act on the complaints
The ICO says it uses 7726 complaints to investigate companies breaking the law. Its June 2026 fine followed more than 60,000 complaints to the ICO and 7726.
(ICO, advice in the June 2026 fine notice, read 2 October 2026)
From the NCSC (Open Government Licence), Ofcom (Ofcom copyright) and the ICO (Open Government Licence), read on 2 October 2026.
The numbers at a glance
- Scam texts the networks block each year (Ofcom: at least 600 million)
- 600 million+
- Ofcom statement, scam texts blocked (para 3.19)
- Suspicious texts that still get through each year (Ofcom, indicative)
- About 100 million
- Ofcom statement, suspicious texts received (para 3.20)
- Texts reported to 7726 in the year to March 2025 (Ofcom)
- 100 million+
- Ofcom statement, 7726 reports (para 3.21 and footnote 9)
- Scams removed across 93.3k web addresses via 7726, as of July 2026 (NCSC)
- 40.9K
- NCSC, report a scam text
How many people still get scam texts
Fewer than before. Ofcom says 40% of UK mobile users remembered getting at least one suspicious text in the three months before its February 2026 survey, down from 50% in 2025 and 75% in 2021. It says the fall may reflect better blocking by the networks, or people using text messages less.
Source: Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams', statement of 15 July 2026, paragraph 3.20 (Ofcom copyright; Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026), read 2 October 2026.
In 2025 and 2026 “text message” means SMS/RCS and/or iMessage, rebased to all mobile users; in 2021 people were asked about suspicious “text on [their] mobile”, so that year is not strictly comparable.
Ofcom calls its estimate of 100 million texts getting through a year broadly indicative: not every suspicious text is a scam, and some people got more than one.
Show the numbers as a table
| Survey | Share of mobile users |
|---|---|
| September 2021 | 75% |
| February 2025 | 50% |
| February 2026 | 40% |
How many scam texts the networks block
From the operators' own firewall data, Ofcom found they blocked just over 30 million messages a month on average between May 2024 and March 2025, rising to over 50 million a month in February and March 2025. It also cites Mobile UK, the networks' trade body, which reported over 166 million scam messages blocked in the first three months of 2026. Ofcom's conclusion: the networks block at least 600 million messages a year.
Mobile UK publishes the networks' month-by-month figures in its SMS fraud tracker; it gives no licence to re-use them, so we link to it rather than chart them.
How many texts are reported to 7726
The mobile networks told Ofcom their customers made 89.8 million 7726 reports between May 2024 and March 2025. In the year to March 2025 the total exceeded 100 million, and from December 2024 to March 2025 it ran at over 10 million per month. Ofcom links that jump to one-click 7726 reporting on iPhones: if your network supports it, the iPhone's own Report Spam can send the text to your network (see how to block spam texts on iPhone and Android).
Most people still don't know the number. In Ofcom's 2026 survey of mobile users, 19% were aware of 7726, 71% had never heard of 7726 or any other number for reporting a suspicious text or call, and 8% had used it to report a text.
Source: Ofcom, 'Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages' 2026, data tables, Q30 (Ofcom copyright; Internet Archive copy of 15 July 2026), read 2 October 2026.
Base: people aged 16+ who got a suspicious SMS/RCS text in the last three months, 793 (effective base 753). People could pick more than one answer, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Every answer is shown except ‘something else’ and ‘don't know’.
Show the numbers as a table
| Action | Share of people |
|---|---|
| Blocked the number | 66% |
| Deleted it | 50% |
| Reported it | 29% |
| Checked whether the number is real | 27% |
| Just ignored it | 27% |
| Told friends or family | 16% |
| Called the sender back | 4% |
| Tapped the link, didn't do as asked | 4% |
| Tapped the link and did as asked | 2% |
| Replied to the sender | 1% |
Spam texts reported to the ICO
The ICO, which enforces the rules on marketing texts, publishes how many reports people make through its own online tool each month. From January to August 2026, people made 3,656 spam-text reports through the ICO's online tool, against 4,814 in the same months of 2025. In 2025 as a whole there were 7,206 spam-text reports, 9.7% of the 74,265 reports about unwanted calls, texts and emails made through the tool that year.
Source: ICO, nuisance calls and messages data sets (PECR monthly totals 2024 to 2026), read 2 October 2026.
These are only the reports people made through the ICO's online reporting tool, and the people reporting choose to do so. Mobile networks receive far more reports through 7726, so this is not a count of spam texts sent.
ICO note on its 2024 file: “A technical error meant users were not able to provide categories when submitting reports online from 09/10/2024 to 02/11/2024. October's and November's totals are therefore impacted.” We show the totals the ICO published for those months, unchanged.
Information Commission's Office, PECR monthly totals 2024, 2025 and 2026 (data sets, nuisance calls and messages), licensed under the Open Government Licence. (licence)
Show the numbers as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | 642 |
| Feb 2024 | 487 |
| Mar 2024 | 728 |
| Apr 2024 | 655 |
| May 2024 | 681 |
| Jun 2024 | 622 |
| Jul 2024 | 624 |
| Aug 2024 | 436 |
| Sep 2024 | 448 |
| Oct 2024 | 711 |
| Nov 2024 | 580 |
| Dec 2024 | 412 |
| Jan 2025 | 486 |
| Feb 2025 | 529 |
| Mar 2025 | 707 |
| Apr 2025 | 550 |
| May 2025 | 530 |
| Jun 2025 | 615 |
| Jul 2025 | 667 |
| Aug 2025 | 730 |
| Sep 2025 | 629 |
| Oct 2025 | 723 |
| Nov 2025 | 524 |
| Dec 2025 | 516 |
| Jan 2026 | 401 |
| Feb 2026 | 327 |
| Mar 2026 | 437 |
| Apr 2026 | 735 |
| May 2026 | 634 |
| Jun 2026 | 452 |
| Jul 2026 | 317 |
| Aug 2026 | 353 |
What 7726 can't reach
- iMessage and WhatsApp. Ofcom says online messaging apps such as WhatsApp, and iMessage, don't depend on phone numbers and are not regulated under the Communications Act, so its new rules don't cover them. Use the app's own report and block options: how to report iMessage, RCS and WhatsApp scams.
- SMS blasters. Ofcom says messages from these false base stations can bypass network-level protections.
- Some networks' figures. The 100 million figure leaves out 7726 reports made to “thick” MVNOs (networks that use another operator's network but run more of their service in-house), about approximately 7% of the market in 2025.
How much money messaging scams cost
Ofcom estimates that approximately £50 million is lost to messaging scams each year, working from UK Finance and Payment Systems Regulator figures and the Crime Survey for England and Wales. It warns that the harm is hard to estimate accurately. The banks' own figures are in UK Finance's Annual Fraud Report 2026, which we link to rather than copy.
What changes in 2027
Ofcom's new rules for person-to-person texts, including limits on how many texts a pay-as-you-go SIM can send, start on 18 January 2027. The rules for business texts, including checks on who a sender is and on fake sender names, start on 15 July 2027. Possessing a SIM farm without a good reason, or supplying one without the defence the Act allows, becomes an offence before that, on 29 October 2026. The dates and what each rule does are in the new UK rules on scam texts.
Where each figure comes from
| Figure | Measured by | How | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Got a suspicious text: 40% | Ofcom | Online survey of UK mobile users aged 16+, February 2026 | What people remember; not every suspicious text is a scam. |
| Blocked: 600 million+ a year | Ofcom, from the networks | Operators' firewall data and Mobile UK's 2026 count | A lower bound, in Ofcom's words 'at least'. |
| 7726 reports: 100 million+ a year | Ofcom, from the networks | Reports to the operators, year to March 2025 | Leaves out thick MVNOs (approximately 7% of the market). |
| Scams removed: 40.9K | NCSC | Running count for the 7726 service, as of July 2026 | Counts scams taken down, not texts. |
| Spam-text reports to the ICO | ICO | Reports through its online tool, by month | A small, self-selected share of all reports. |
| Lost: about £50 million a year | Ofcom | Estimate from bank, regulator and crime survey figures | Ofcom says it is hard to estimate accurately. |
Got a text to report? See how to forward a text to 7726, or paste it into the scam text checker first. Keep getting the same kind? Why loan texts keep coming.
Sources
- Ofcom statement, suspicious texts received (para 3.20): Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams: New rules and guidance', statement published 15 July 2026 (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026, as the live site blocks automated access; footnote numbers left out), paragraph 3.20 and footnotes 83 to 87: "Evidence from our most recent consumer research, published in March 2026, shows that 40% of UK mobile users reported receiving at least one suspicious text message via their default messaging service in the three months prior to fieldwork, down from 75% in 2021 and from 50% in 2025. This fall may reflect improvements in the scam blocking measures deployed by mobile operators, or the declining popularity of mobile messaging, as set out in section 2. However, indicatively, this suggests that in the order of 100 million suspicious messages per annum are getting through to mobile users - and potentially substantially more. ... "Text message" refers to messages received via SMS/RCS and/or iMessage. ... Ofcom, 2026. Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages, Q26. Rebased for all mobile users. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2026. ... Respondents were only asked about suspicious "text on [their] mobile" in the previous three months in 2021. Fieldwork was conducted in September 2021. ... Ofcom, 2025. Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages, Q26. Rebased for all mobile users. Fieldwork was conducted in February 2025. ... This should be seen as broadly indicative of the magnitude of scam messages getting through to customers: on the one hand, not all suspicious messages are scams; on the other hand, survey respondents who recalled receiving suspicious messages may have received more than one such message over the past three months." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-3-4-weeks/consultation-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams/main-document/statement-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams.pdf?v=423155, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom statement, scam texts blocked (para 3.19): Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams: New rules and guidance', statement published 15 July 2026 (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026, as the live site blocks automated access; footnote numbers left out), paragraph 3.19: "The data showed that, on average, mobile operators blocked just over 30 million messages per month between May 2024 and March 2025. This blocking increased over the reporting period, reaching over 50 million messages per month in February and March 2025. Mobile UK has reported that mobile operators blocked over 166 million scam messages in the first quarter of 2026. These results suggest that mobile operators are blocking at least 600 million messages per annum." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-3-4-weeks/consultation-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams/main-document/statement-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams.pdf?v=423155, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom statement, 7726 reports (para 3.21 and footnote 9): Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams: New rules and guidance', statement published 15 July 2026 (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026, as the live site blocks automated access; footnote numbers left out), paragraph 3.21 and footnote 9: "The 7726 service allows consumers to report unwanted or suspicious messages or calls received on their mobile devices, which operators can use to monitor scam activity and update their network protections accordingly. The number of messages reported to mobile operators as suspicious via this service exceeded 100 million in the year to March 2025. This figure does not include 7726 reporting to thick MVNOs, which accounted for approximately 7% of the UK mobile market in 2025. ... with an average of over 10 million per month between December 2024 and March 2025, driven by further implementation of one-click 7726 reporting by mobile network operators on Apple iOS devices." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-3-4-weeks/consultation-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams/main-document/statement-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams.pdf?v=423155, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom news, 7726 reports (29 Oct 2025): Ofcom, '100 million suspicious messages reported to mobile providers last year', news published 29 October 2025, notes to editors (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 15 January 2026, as the live site blocks automated access): "They reported a total of 89.8 million 7726 reports by their customers between May 2024 and March 2025, inclusive, with an average of over 10 million between December 2024 and March 2025." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/scam-calls-and-messages/new-rules-to-protect-people-and--businesses-against-mobile-messaging-scams, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom statement, money lost (para 3.22 to 3.23): Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams: New rules and guidance', statement published 15 July 2026 (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026, as the live site blocks automated access; footnote numbers left out), paragraphs 3.22 to 3.23 and footnote 91: "Based on the available evidence on financial harms, we estimate that tens of millions of pounds are lost to messaging scams each year. ... Based on the UK Finance and PSR figures, combined with Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) data on initial contact methods for scams, we estimate that approximately £50 million is lost to messaging scams per annum. ... the harm from messaging scams is also difficult to estimate with accuracy." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-3-4-weeks/consultation-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams/main-document/statement-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams.pdf?v=423155, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom statement, what the rules cover (para 2.31 to 2.35, 1.9): Ofcom, 'Combatting mobile messaging scams: New rules and guidance', statement published 15 July 2026 (checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 29 September 2026, as the live site blocks automated access; footnote numbers left out), overview, paragraphs 1.9 and 2.31 to 2.35: "Setting volume limits for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) SIMs, to make it harder for scammers to message large numbers of potential victims. ... Preventing the use of fake alphanumeric sender IDs, including by corroborating Sender IDs against information gathered through KYC checks ... The new rules and new guidance that apply to P2P messaging will come into effect on 18 January 2027. Those that apply to A2P messaging will come into effect on 15 July 2027. ... The measures do not apply to services that Ofcom regulates under the Online Safety Act, such as online messaging apps. ... Widely adopted online messaging apps such as WhatsApp and proprietary online messaging standards such as iMessage use functionality that is not dependent on telephone numbers and they are not regulated under the Communications Act. ... Messages from these false base stations can bypass network-level protections and tackling them requires a coordinated response from regulators and law enforcement." Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-3-4-weeks/consultation-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams/main-document/statement-combatting-mobile-messaging-scams.pdf?v=423155, read on 2026-10-02
- SI 2026/960, SIM farm offences start: The Crime and Policing Act 2026 (Commencement No. 3 and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/960, made 2 September 2026), regulation 5, legislation.gov.uk (Crown copyright): "The following provisions of the 2026 Act come into force on 29th October 2026— ... sections 151 to 153 (SIM farms);" Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/960/made, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom survey 2026, Q30 actions taken: Ofcom, 'Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages' 2026, data tables (online fieldwork 4 to 5 February 2026, people aged 16 and over, prepared by Yonder; checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 15 July 2026, as the live site blocks automated access), Q30, column 'SMS/RCS text on your mobile': "Q30. Which, if any, actions have you taken as a result of receiving these suspicious texts/calls? ... Base: All who have received a suspicious text/app message/call in the last three months ... Unweighted base 793 ... Effective base 753 ... NET: Any action 91% ... Replied to the message sender 1% ... Called the message sender/called the original caller back 4% ... Clicked on the link but then didn't do as instructed 4% ... Clicked on the link and then did as instructed by the message/person (e.g., entered personal details on the website/ downloaded software) 2% ... Reported it 29% ... Blocked the number 66% ... Told friends or family about it 16% ... Checked to see if the number is real (e.g., Google search / elsewhere) 27% ... Deleted it 50% ... Just ignored it 27%" Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/data/statistics/2026/experiences-of-suspicious-calls-texts-and-app-messages/experiences-of-suspicious-calls-texts-and-app-messages-data-tables.xlsx?v=415281, read on 2026-10-02
- Ofcom survey 2026, Q33 awareness of 7726: Ofcom, 'Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages' 2026, data tables (online fieldwork 4 to 5 February 2026, people aged 16 and over, prepared by Yonder; checked on 2 October 2026 against the Internet Archive copy of 15 July 2026, as the live site blocks automated access), Q33, column 'Total': "Q33. Have you heard of or used the special text number [7726] that you can use to report a suspected suspicious text or call? Base: All mobile users ... Unweighted base 2092 ... Yes, have heard of 7726 and used it to report a suspicious text 8% ... No, I have never heard of 7726 or any other number to report a suspicious text or call 71% ... NET: Aware of 7726 19%" Ofcom copyright. — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/data/statistics/2026/experiences-of-suspicious-calls-texts-and-app-messages/experiences-of-suspicious-calls-texts-and-app-messages-data-tables.xlsx?v=415281, read on 2026-10-02
- Apple, report spam and block senders (iOS 27): Apple, iPhone User Guide (iOS 27), 'Report spam and block senders in Messages on iPhone': "You can’t report a message after you’ve replied to it." Short quote; the rest is summarised in our own words. — https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph3f94d910d/ios, read on 2026-10-02
- NCSC, report a scam text: NCSC, 'Report a scam text' (published 26 November 2021, reviewed 5 September 2022): "By reporting, you can: reduce the amount of scam texts you receive; make yourself a harder target for scammers; protect others from cyber crime online. 40.9K scams removed across 93.3k URLs as of July 2026 as part of the 7726 service. ... You can also take a screenshot or screen recording of the text message and send it to us at report@phishing.gov.uk ... If 7726 doesn't work, you can find out how to report a text message by contacting your phone provider. ... The purpose of a scam text message is often to get you to click a link. This will take you to a website which criminals use to download viruses to your computer, or steal passwords or other personal information." Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. — https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-text-message, read on 2026-10-02
- ICO, advice in the June 2026 fine notice: ICO, 'Manchester firm fined £300,000 for bombarding people in debt with over 5.5 million unlawful texts' (23 June 2026): "This led to more than 60,000 complaints being made to us and Mobile UK’s 7726 spam reporting service. ... If you receive a marketing text from an unfamiliar company, do not reply or click any links. Responding confirms your number is active and may lead to more messages. ... ICO uses complaints to this service to investigate companies breaking the law and take action." Information Commission's Office, 'Manchester firm fined £300,000 for bombarding people in debt with over 5.5 million unlawful texts', 23 June 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence. — https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2026/06/manchester-firm-fined-300-000-for-bombarding-people-in-debt-with-over-55-million-unlawful-texts/, read on 2026-10-02
- ICO, spam-text reports by month (data): ICO, nuisance calls and messages data sets, PECR monthly totals 2024 (https://ico.org.uk/media2/mxvjlvfe/pecr-monthly-totals-2024.xlsx), 2025 (https://ico.org.uk/media2/f2wbk1cj/pecr-monthly-totals-2025.xlsx), 2026 (https://ico.org.uk/media2/as2ivs2v/pecr-monthly-totals-2026.csv): "2026 Monthly PECR reporting totals by month, contact type and call category (as determined by complainants)" Information Commission's Office, PECR monthly totals 2024, 2025 and 2026 (data sets, nuisance calls and messages), licensed under the Open Government Licence. — https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/complaints-and-concerns-data-sets/nuisance-calls-and-messages/, read on 2026-10-02
- Mobile UK, SMS fraud tracker (link only): Mobile UK (the mobile networks' trade body), 'Protecting UK customers from mobile fraud: Q1 update', summarised in our own words: the networks' monthly count of scam texts blocked before they reach customers. Mobile UK gives no re-use licence, so we link to it instead of copying its figures. — https://www.mobileuk.org/news/protecting-uk-customers-from-mobile-fraud---q1-update, read on 2026-10-02
- UK Finance, Annual Fraud Report 2026 (link only): UK Finance, 'Annual Fraud Report 2026' (published 11 June 2026), summarised in our own words: the banking industry's yearly figures on fraud losses. Its terms do not allow republishing, so we link to it instead of copying its figures. — https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/policy-and-guidance/reports/annual-fraud-report-2026, read on 2026-10-02
- NCSC, forwarding to 7726: NCSC, Report a scam text: "Most phone providers are part of a scheme that allows customers to report suspicious text messages for free by forwarding it to 7726. If you forward a text to 7726, your provider can investigate the origin of the text and arrange to block or ban the sender, if it's found to be malicious." — https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/report-scam-text-message, read on 2026-09-29
Quotes from GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, mygov.scot, the NCSC, the ICO and NHS England are used under the Open Government Licence v3.0; material from Ofcom is Ofcom copyright. Other pages are summarised in our own words or quoted briefly, with a link. How we check.
Frequently asked questions
- Does forwarding to 7726 actually do anything?
- Yes. Your network gets the report; Ofcom says operators use 7726 reports to monitor scam activity and update their protections, and the NCSC counts 40.9K scams removed across 93.3k web addresses through the service as of July 2026.
- Is forwarding a text to 7726 free?
- The NCSC says most phone providers let customers report suspicious texts to 7726 for free. If 7726 doesn't work on your network, ask your phone provider how to report a text.
- How many scam texts are sent in the UK?
- Nobody publishes a single total. Ofcom says the networks block at least 600 million scam texts a year, and estimates, as a broad indication, that around 100 million suspicious texts still get through.
- Does 7726 work for iMessage or WhatsApp?
- Those aren't texts over the mobile network: Ofcom says WhatsApp and iMessage are not regulated under the Communications Act. Use Report Spam in Messages, or block and report in WhatsApp.
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Ofcom's scam text blocking rules start on 18 January 2027 and 15 July 2027, after the SIM farm ban of 29 October 2026. What changes and what isn't covered.
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Last updated 2026-10-02. Independent information service. Number data from Ofcom shows the original range holder; numbers can be ported or spoofed. Not affiliated with any organisation named on this page, including Ofcom, the FCA, the ICO, the NHS, DWP, HMRC, TV Licensing, Apple, Google or any police service.