Virgin Media O2 Issues Warning Over Significant Rise in Scam Texts

Virgin Media O2 has urged Brits to stay vigilant after its latest analysis of suspicious messages reveals a significant increase in the number of recruitment, car finance and gambling prize scams.

The telecoms provider has analysed messages reported and blocked throughout the month of August to help inform Brits about the latest scam tactics they need to look out for.

The most commonly reported messages right now are gambling or fake prize scams in which fraudsters offer free “credit” on gambling sites, “prizes” or “rewards” with a link to an unsafe website. The criminals encourage people to hand over personal details including bank information to claim their prize.

The second most common tactic currently being used is “Hi Mum / Hi Dad” scams, where scammers pretend to be a child reaching out to their parent in distress on a new phone number before asking them to transfer money.

Third on the list is fake parking fines – where scammers threaten significant fines or for people’s “license to be revoked” if they do not visit a suspicious website and make an immediate payment.

Also on the rise are recruitment scams where fraudsters say they’re hiring for lucrative positions which don’t exist and car finance scams in which victims are told they are entitled to compensation. In both, scammers encourage people to share personal information and may ask them to pay fees for their services to help secure the job or access compensation.

Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at Virgin Media O2, said: “Scammers aren’t sticking to old tricks; they’re evolving fast, tapping into trending news and targeting vulnerable people with fake prizes, job offers and financial compensation schemes.

“At Virgin Media O2 we’re doing everything we can and have already blocked more than 600 million scam texts from reaching our customers so far this year. By analysing these messages and sounding the alarm, we’re helping to spread the word about the latest trends and help Brits to swerve the scammers.

“But with fraud continuing to increase, we’re reminding people to remain vigilant; always be careful when you receive a call or text out of the blue, don’t share personal details with anyone and report suspicious messages for free to 7726.”

Customers can help fight back against fraudsters by forwarding suspicious texts or calls for free to 7726 – which spells “SPAM” on an alphanumeric phone keypad – on any network. Customer with certain devices including newer iPhones can also use the “report junk” tool which appears at the bottom of messages from people not in their contacts.

By reporting messages, it makes it easier for new trends to be identified and shut down faster. Numbers reported to Virgin Media O2 are blocked whilst messages are analysed to help improve the company’s blocking technology– which uses machine learning to identify new spam patterns and attempts.