7726: the free number that reports spam texts and scam calls

7726 is the UK’s free number for reporting spam texts and scam calls. Forward a suspicious text message to 7726 and your mobile network will investigate the sender and can block it. The service is run by the mobile networks themselves, endorsed by Ofcom, free on every UK network, and the number was chosen because 7726 spells SPAM on an alphanumeric keypad. I run a mobile network, so I will also tell you what actually happens on the other end when you press send.

How to report a spam text to 7726

Do not reply to the message and do not tap any links in it. Then:

1. Press and hold the message and choose Forward (on an iPhone, press and hold, tap More, then the forward arrow).
2. Send it to 7726. Sending is free and the sender will not see that you reported them.
3. Wait for the reply. Your network will acknowledge the report and ask you to send the number the message came from. Vodafone documents this exact flow: forward the SMS, then send the sender’s number when asked, and you get a final acknowledgement.

There are shortcuts, too. On an iPhone, suspicious messages from unknown senders show a Report Junk link underneath, and on Android, Google Messages has a report spam option when you press and hold a message. Vodafone lists both as alternatives to forwarding manually, and they feed the same reporting pipeline.

One practical note from the network side: the reply asking for the sender’s number is automated. It is there because a forwarded message does not always carry the original sender’s details with it, so the system asks you to supply them. It is not a sign anything went wrong.

How to report a scam call to 7726

7726 handles nuisance and scam calls to your mobile as well, and this is the bit most people do not know. The method is a text message about the call:

• Text the word “call” to 7726. Your network then replies asking for the phone number you want to report. This is Vodafone’s documented process.
• On O2, you can do it in one step: text the word “call” followed by the caller’s number to 7726.

The exact flow varies slightly between networks, and I will be honest about that rather than pretend it is uniform. But the word “call” sent to 7726 starts the process on the networks that support call reporting, and if your network wants the number in a separate message, it will simply ask for it.

What happens after you report

Your report does not vanish into a void, but you will not get a personal reply either. Here is the pipeline, as documented by Vodafone and the industry body Mobile UK:

• Reported messages are collected and analysed for scam and spam content.
• The analysis is shared nationally with all UK mobile operators, not just your own, and is used to tune the SMS filters that stop these messages reaching people in the first place.
• Message contents are shared with the Information Commissioner’s Office, which acts on unlawful marketing, and the National Cyber Security Centre, which looks for evidence of fraud. Serious cases can go to law enforcement.
• Numbers that are repeatedly reported can be blocked.

The scale is real. In Ofcom’s consultation on combatting mobile messaging scams, UK mobile operators reported around 90 million reports to 7726 between May 2024 and March 2025, and operators’ detection tools were blocking roughly 50 million scam messages a month in early 2025. Ofcom followed up in July 2026 with new rules targeting text message scammers, noting that 40% of mobile users had received at least one suspicious text in the previous three months. Reports to 7726 are part of the evidence base that makes rules like that happen.

Is 7726 safe? The myths, quickly

It is free. Not a premium number, no hidden charge, on any UK network.

It does not sign you up to anything. The only messages you will get back are the automated acknowledgement and the request for the sender’s number. 7726 is a reporting channel run by the networks, nothing more.

The scammer does not find out. Your report goes to your network, not to the sender.

One caution: scammers know people trust 7726, so treat any unexpected text that claims to be “from 7726” and asks for personal details as a scam itself. The real service never asks for anything except the number you are reporting.

What 7726 will not do

7726 is a reporting tool, not an emergency line. Use the right channel for the situation:

• If you have lost money or handed over personal details, contact your bank first, then report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040, the service that replaced Action Fraud in December 2025 (in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101).
• If a caller claims to be your bank, hang up and dial 159, the Stop Scams UK hotline that connects you securely to your own bank.
• For persistent nuisance marketing from identifiable companies, you can complain directly to the ICO, which can fine firms for unlawful calls and texts.

7726 also will not stop a determined spammer overnight. It is cumulative: your report plus thousands of others is what gets a number blocked and a campaign filtered.

Check the number before you decide

If you are staring at a message wondering whether it is genuine, check the number itself. Our free UK phone number checker tells you what type of number you are dealing with, and the UK area codes directory shows where a landline number claims to be from. The word “claims” matters: caller ID can be faked, which is how number spoofing works, so a familiar-looking number is not proof of anything.

Reporting is one tool among several. For blocking, network-level filters and the settings worth turning on, read the full guide to stopping spam calls in the UK. But if you only remember one thing, make it this: forward the text to 7726. It costs nothing, it takes ten seconds, and it is the single report that helps every mobile user in the country, whichever network they are on.