How to Report Spam Texts and Calls in the UK with 7726: The Free Service Most People Have Never Used

7726 spam text UK reporting is a free service most British mobile users have never heard of, but it exists on every major network. The digits 7-7-2-6 spell out S-P-A-M on a phone keypad, and forwarding a suspicious text to 7726 sends it straight to your network’s anti-fraud team. Industry body MEF aggregates the reports across operators, which is how a single smishing campaign gets blocked across EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, Sky Mobile and the rest in hours rather than weeks.

This guide explains what 7726 is, how to use it to report a spam text or scam call, what the networks actually do with your report, and the realistic limits of the service. It also covers how to layer 7726 with the Telephone Preference Service, network call-protect apps, and our free UK number lookup for a defence that cuts the volume of junk reaching your phone.

What 7726 actually is

7726 is a UK-wide spam reporting shortcode, jointly run by the British mobile networks and coordinated by industry body MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum). It was introduced in 2012 as an industry response to the rise of “smishing” (SMS phishing), and is now supported by every major UK mobile operator, including:

• EE
• O2 (Virgin Media O2)
• Three
• Vodafone
• BT Mobile
• Sky Mobile
• Tesco Mobile
• Lebara
• Lyca Mobile
• iD Mobile
• giffgaff
• Smarty

The number is free to send to from every UK pay-monthly and pay-as-you-go plan, and from business mobile tariffs. It does not eat into your message bundle. The point of using a single national shortcode is straightforward: when one customer on Sky Mobile reports a smishing text, the same source number can be blocked across all other UK networks within a few hours, instead of needing twelve separate complaints.

How to report a spam text in 4 steps

The process is identical across iPhone, Android and basic feature phones. Do this without tapping any link in the original message.

1. Do not reply, and do not tap any link. Even a “STOP” reply confirms the number is live and worth re-targeting.
2. Forward the message to 7726. On iPhone, long-press the message, tap More, then the forward arrow, and enter 7726 as the recipient. On Android, long-press the message, choose Forward or Share, and send to 7726.
3. If your network replies asking for the sender’s number, forward that too. The reply is automated; it usually arrives within seconds. Copy the original sender’s number from the message header and send it as a normal SMS to 7726.
4. Delete the original once your network has confirmed receipt. Do not leave smishing in your inbox where you might accidentally tap a link later.

The whole process takes under a minute and costs nothing. The Information Commissioner’s Office and Ofcom both recommend 7726 as the first step for any suspicious UK text. See the ICO guidance on nuisance calls and messages for the regulatory context.

How to report a spam call (7726 plus four other channels)

7726 was built for SMS, but most UK networks also accept a forwarded number to report a voice call. Layer 7726 with the four other reporting routes UK consumers and SMEs have available.

1. Text the caller’s number to 7726. Open a new SMS, type the calling number into the message body, and send it to 7726. EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and Sky all process voice-call reports this way.
2. Use your network’s call-protect app. BT Call Protect, EE Call Protect, Sky Talk Shield and Vodafone Secure Net all let you flag a number as scam from your call history. The full setup is in our piece on blocking unknown callers on iPhone, Android and business phone systems.
3. Report to Action Fraud for any call where you have lost money or shared sensitive information. In Scotland, call 101 to report through Police Scotland instead.
4. Report to Ofcom for nuisance calls, silent calls, and obvious caller-ID spoofing of UK landline numbers.
5. Report to the ICO for unsolicited marketing calls that breach PECR, particularly if your number is registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

What 7726 does with your report

The reports do not vanish into a black box. Each forwarded SMS flows through your network’s spam intelligence team and into the MEF cross-operator database. From there, three things happen.

• Cross-network blocking: once a source number is reported enough times, the originating SMS gateway is blacklisted at the carrier level so it cannot route further messages to UK mobiles on any network.
• Automated filtering of variants: 7726 reports feed machine-learning models that catch obvious typos and number-shifted versions of the same campaign.
• Evidence base for law enforcement: aggregated data is shared with the National Crime Agency, Action Fraud and the ICO to support investigations into organised smishing rings.

You will not be notified of action on your specific report; that is by design, so operators can investigate without tipping off the scammer.

The realistic limits of 7726

7726 is the single best free tool the UK has against smishing, but it is not a silver bullet. Three limitations are worth being clear about.

• No personal feedback. Your network will rarely tell you whether your specific report led to a block, a fine, or no action. Aggregate reports do drive blocking, but individually you get no receipt.
• It does not block at your handset. Once you have forwarded the message, the same sender can still text you again until the network applies its block. Use handset-level filters or your network’s call-protect app for an immediate block.
• International and VoIP-originated traffic can slip through. Scammers using foreign VoIP gateways, throwaway eSIM ranges, or international roaming can bypass the UK carrier filters 7726 informs. This is why network blocks and Action Fraud reporting matter alongside 7726.

Layering 7726 with stronger defences

For a serious cut in junk traffic, treat 7726 as one of four or five tools you use together.

• Register with the Telephone Preference Service to stop legitimate UK marketing calls (mandatory under PECR).
• Enable network and handset call-blocking using our guide on blocking unknown callers on iPhone, Android and business phone systems.
• Identify the caller before you ring back with a free lookup such as Who Called Me.
• Train staff to spot voice-phishing with our briefing on vishing attacks against UK SMEs.
• Harden your wider IT setup using the controls in our Cyber Essentials overview.

Common 7726-reportable scams in the UK

The same handful of smishing templates dominate UK 7726 reports year after year. Forwarding even one helps the networks tighten the net for everyone else.

• Fake Royal Mail / Evri / Parcelforce delivery texts claiming a small “redelivery fee” is owed and linking to a card-harvesting page.
• HMRC refund or tax-debt texts: HMRC does not text about refunds or arrears with payment links.
• Bank security texts claiming an unauthorised payment or new payee and asking you to “confirm” via a link.
• Premium subscription traps that auto-charge a small recurring fee after a “free trial” you never signed up to.
• Wangiri SMS bait: a one-line text such as “did you just call me?” intended to drive a premium-rate callback. The full pattern is in our guide on the wangiri one-ring scam.
• Refund-scam smishing mimicking Amazon, eBay or your energy supplier, asking you to “claim” a refund through a fake portal.

How to verify a suspicious text before reporting

Before forwarding, it is worth a 30-second sense-check.

• Look up the sender CLI on Who Called Me. If the sender appears as a UK landline (a spoofed 020 London, 0207, 0203, 0161 Manchester, 0121 Birmingham, 0117 Bristol or 0113 Leeds number), our lookup shows the Ofcom-allocated communications provider behind it. You can also check the mobile prefix on /who-called-me/077/ or freephone on /who-called-me/0800/.
• Carrier mismatch. A bank SMS from a random UK mobile number is almost always a scam; real banks use a branded alphanumeric sender ID.
• Typos and urgency cues. “Pay within 24 hours or service will be suspended” is a smishing classic, as are slightly-wrong domain names like “hmrc-gov-uk.com”.
• Long-press to preview a link. A legitimate Royal Mail link will be on royalmail.com or royalmail.co.uk, not a random shortener.

Frequently asked questions

Does 7726 cost anything to use?

No. Forwarding a text to 7726 is free on every major UK mobile network, including EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, BT Mobile, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Lebara, Lyca Mobile, iD Mobile, giffgaff and Smarty. It does not use any of your SMS allowance, and there is no charge on pay-as-you-go.

Does 7726 work on every UK mobile network?

Yes, on every consumer-facing UK mobile operator. The shortcode is industry-managed rather than network-owned, so EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and all the MVNOs riding on their infrastructure accept it. If you are on a corporate VoIP-only SIM, your reseller may route 7726 through the underlying mobile carrier; if a test forward bounces, contact your provider.

What about WhatsApp scams? Does 7726 cover those?

No. 7726 only handles SMS and traditional voice traffic that runs over the UK mobile networks. WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, Telegram and other over-the-top platforms each have their own in-app report function. For WhatsApp, long-press the message, tap “Report”, and select “Report and block”.

What should I do if I already tapped the link in a smishing text?

If you only opened the page without entering anything, close the tab and clear your browser cache as a precaution. If you entered card details or login credentials, treat it as a confirmed breach: contact your bank’s fraud line immediately, change the affected password from a different device, and report to Action Fraud. Then forward the original message to 7726 so other UK customers are protected.

Is 7726 the same as Action Fraud?

No. 7726 is the UK mobile-network spam reporting shortcode for low-effort, high-volume blocking of smishing campaigns. Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting service for individual cases where money or sensitive data has been lost. For a serious incident you should do both: forward to 7726 for the network block, then file with Action Fraud for the investigation.

Will I be told what happened to my 7726 report?

No. The networks do not feed back outcomes on individual reports, partly to avoid tipping off scammers about which numbers have been flagged. The aggregated 7726 data is what powers the cross-network blocking and the evidence base shared with Action Fraud, the ICO and the National Crime Agency.