Scam text reports to 7726 lead to removal of more than 60,000 malicious websites

Reports of scam text messages to 7726, the free reporting service run by mobile network providers, led to more than 60,000 malicious websites being removed in March 2024¹. The figures were shared by Action Fraud and reported by the consumer group Which? on 2 July 2024¹.

The same reporting data shows that the Suspicious Email Reporting Service, which takes forwarded scam emails at report@phishing.gov.uk, reached its highest level of reporting in May since it launched in 2020¹. Reports made through that service have led to the removal of 329,000 scam websites by the National Cyber Security Centre¹.

The 7726 service covers texts and calls received on a mobile. Which? lists it alongside other reporting routes: scam emails go to report@phishing.gov.uk, suspicious websites to the National Cyber Security Centre, and doorstep scams and companies to Citizens Advice, which can pass complaints to local Trading Standards¹. Anyone who has lost money is directed to report the scam to their bank, and to Action Fraud, or to the police on 101 in Scotland¹.

Which? said reporting helps investigators link separate scams run by the same criminal organisations, and helps prevent others from falling victim¹. It also pointed to legislation, noting that the Online Safety Act became law after campaigning by the organisation and others, and that it will require platforms to prevent and quickly remove harmful online content, including scams¹.

Why it matters for households

Scam texts and calls arrive on the phone numbers people use every day, and the 7726 route is the one open to anyone with a mobile, at no cost, whether or not money has been lost¹. The March 2024 removals figure indicates that reports made by individuals fed into the takedown of tens of thousands of websites in a single month¹, which reduces the number of live pages a scam text can point to.

For households, the practical effect described is indirect: reporting is presented as a way to cut off the infrastructure behind a scam rather than as a route to recovering money already lost¹. Where money has gone, the stated route is the bank, then Action Fraud, or the police on 101 in Scotland¹. The email reporting service, meanwhile, recorded its highest level of reporting in May since its 2020 launch, and reports through it have been linked to 329,000 website removals by the National Cyber Security Centre¹.

The figures cover reports and removals, not losses, and no breakdown by nation, age group or scam type is given¹. The Online Safety Act's requirements on platforms to prevent and remove harmful content, including scams, are described as forthcoming rather than in force at the time of reporting¹.

What happens next

No further dates are set out in the reporting. The Online Safety Act is described as having become law, with obligations on platforms to prevent and quickly remove harmful online content, including scams¹. No timetable for those duties, and no further reporting or removal targets, have been reported¹.

Consumers who want to know how the 7726 service works can read our guide to forwarding suspicious texts to 7726, and our explainer on phishing, vishing and smishing covers fake emails, calls and texts. More reporting routes are set out in our scams and fraud section.