UK Phone Scam Trends 2026
Community-reported data updated in real time. Data for July 2026.
Key figures: UK phone fraud 2025–2026
Currently active
HMRC impersonation, banking fraud and AI voice cloning scams are the most frequently reported in the UK right now. Never transfer money or share your PIN based on an unexpected call. Dial 159 to reach your bank's fraud team directly.
What's new in 2026
Organised Crime Comms unit launches April 2026
The new Ofcom-led Organised Crime Communications (OCC) unit begins operations in April 2026, with powers to identify and disconnect phone numbers and networks used for mass fraud.
AI voice cloning is now mainstream
Tools that can clone a voice from as few as 3 seconds of audio are freely available. Scam calls that sound exactly like a family member or colleague are no longer rare. They are common..
Deepfake video calls reaching businesses
Fraudsters are staging live video calls using AI-generated faces of executives to authorise wire transfers. A UK engineering firm lost £25 million in a single deepfake call in 2024.
New Ofcom rules on number authentication
From 2025–2026, Ofcom requires telecoms providers to implement CLI (Caller Line Identification) authentication, making it harder to spoof UK numbers, though overseas-originating calls remain a challenge.
Most reported call types: last 30 days
Top reported numbers: last 30 days
| # | Number | Reports | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0191 2091740 | 3 | Spam |
| 2 | 01604 423739 | 3 | Spam |
| 3 | 01132 074460 | 3 | Nuisance |
| 4 | 07711 992336 | 2 | Spam |
| 5 | 01158 238480 | 2 | Spam |
| 6 | 0870 1161820 | 2 | Sales |
| 7 | 020 8073 1621 | 1 | Nuisance |
| 8 | 07307 710816 | 1 | Spam |
| 9 | 01163 503765 | 1 | Sales |
| 10 | 07309 575104 | 1 | Spam |
What callers are saying
Excerpts from recent community reports.
“PPI scam claiming I'm entitled to refund and wanted to send someone to my house to verify my ID but once I started asking question the caller became abusive ”
“Robo fraud call claiming to be from Visa fraud protection, on a mobile located at fraud geographical central???? Noooo don’t believe that. Block it.”
“Amazon wanting to delete a non existent iphone order in my account”
“Third of three persistent numbers keep calling on my landline claiming to be energy advisor and asking personal information.”
“Second of three persistent numbers keep calling on my landline claiming to be energy advisor and asking personal information.”
“First of three persistent numbers keep calling on my landline claiming to be energy advisor and asking personal information.”
Browse by scam type
How scammers find your number
Data breaches
Millions of UK phone numbers have been exposed in data breaches at retailers, healthcare providers and online services. These lists are sold on criminal marketplaces.
Sequential dialling
Automated systems call numbers in sequence, covering every number in a geographic range, without needing any prior information about you.
Social media
Numbers posted publicly or used to sign up to apps are harvested by data brokers and sold. Scammers also scrape profiles for voice and video material for AI cloning.
Directory listings
Older directory listings, voter roll extracts and Companies House filings can expose numbers that have not changed in years.
Where to get help
Latest government action
Ofcom OCC unit launches
New unit with powers to identify and disconnect networks used for mass scam calling.
Mandatory APP reimbursement
PSR requires banks to reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud up to £85,000 within 5 business days.
Action Fraud replaced by reportfraud.police.uk
New National Fraud Reporting Centre launched for online fraud reporting.
Ofcom CLI authentication rules
New rules requiring telecoms providers to authenticate Caller Line Identification, reducing the ease of number spoofing.
Monthly reports