A quarter of UK email users receive suspicious emails every day

Email, text and mobile calls are the most used forms of communication and have the highest frequency of suspicious activity, according to research published by Ofcom, the telecoms regulator.

The regulator surveyed 2,096 UK adults in January about their experiences of scams and fraud and found that almost half of UK adults experience suspicious content via email at least once a week.

One in 10 reported receiving suspicious texts to their mobiles at least once a week and one in five received suspicious calls to their mobiles at the same frequency.

Email was also the most mentioned source for recent suspicious content, followed by calls to mobiles and texts on mobiles. One in five also said that they’d received suspicious emails ‘a lot more’ than during the period last year.

Scammers use multiple communication channels and online platforms when they try to lure you into one of their schemes, below, we outline the classic signs of a scam and how to report it.

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Identifying scams

Ofcom's research found that most people reported not recognising the caller or sender’s number as a reason for thinking a call or text was suspicious. 

This was followed by poorly written content, with half of respondents saying that this caused suspicion regarding messages received on their mobiles.

For online channels, such as social media platforms, not recognising the originator’s name or account and poorly written content were also the main signs that a message received was suspicious. 

Classic signs of a scam

While scammers are becoming increasingly savvy, some reliable signs that a message or call you received or something you came across online could be a scam are:

• Being contacted out of the blue.
• Messages containing links.
• Being asked to share personal or financial information.
• Being asked to make an urgent payment.
• Being asked not to share any details with friends or family.
• Buying from a retailer with missing or vague contact details.
• Products or investments that are too good to be true.
• Poor spelling and grammar.

To stay on top of the latest scams in circulation, you can sign up for our free Scam Alerts email service. 

Make sure to also regularly check the Which? scam tracker for the latest scams trending this month.

How to report scams

Ofcom's research also found that one of the most common reasons for not reporting a scam was that people didn't know where to report it to.

Reporting scams is important as it's the most effective way to get a scam taken out of circulation. 

Depending on the type of scam you've received, there are different ways to report it:

• Text messages: forward it to 7726. You can report scam WhatsApp messages by pressing and holding the message before selecting ‘report’.
• Emails: forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. You can also select ‘report spam’ on Gmail, ‘report phishing’ on Hotmail or send scam emails to abuse@yahoo.com if you’re using a Yahoo account.
• Calls: you can report scam calls received on your mobile to 7726. On WhatsApp, open the WhatsApp chat with the dodgy phone number and tap 'block.' You can report the contact by tapping 'report contact'.
• Websites: suspicious websites should be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
• Social media: to report a scam group, page or profile on Facebook, select the three dots on the right-hand side of the page and click ‘report’. On Instagram, you can press the three dots in the top right corner of a post or profile and select ‘report’. On X, formally known as Twitter, select the three dots and then ‘report.’

If you've lost money to a scam, contact your bank immediately and report the scam to Action Fraud. Call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.