Virgin Media O2 urging parents to speak about scam text risks

The risks of scam texts

Our strategic partner, Virgin Media O2, is urging parents and guardians to speak to teens about the risks of scam texts.

It comes as new research, by Virgin Media O2, reveals a quarter (26%) of 13-to-16 year olds are likely to be lured in by a scam text.*

The organisation blocked 168 million suspected fraudelent text messages over the past two years.

Millions have received a scam message

The research reveals up to 2.2 million mobile phone owning teens aged 13-16 have received a scam message.

Of them, more than 4 in 10 (43%) say they’ve clicked on a link that downloaded harmful software onto their device, while 41% have provided personal details such as their name or address.

Moreover, a third (34%) say they’ve been tricked into buying goods that never arrived.

Despite more than three-quarters (77%) of teens saying they could confidently identify a scam, when presented with a deal for a takeaway pizza, almost half (48%) thought it was real, when it was fake*.

The study shows more than a fifth (23%)* didn’t know scammers could pretend to be from their favourite brand in order to defraud them, and almost half (48%) are worried about falling victim to a scam.

Latest scam text trends

Virgin Media O2 has revealed the most common fraudulent messages reported by O2 customers via 7726 that pretend to be from brands and have attractive offers that appeal to young people, to trick them out of their money and personal information.

This includes fake job offers to work for TikTok, free account credits for online gaming accounts, and messages about missed parcel deliveries.

Examples of scam texts reported to O2 during January 2025

“We know how convincing scammers’ messages can be with promises of too good to be true deals, discounts and job offers from well-known brands that tempt young people into clicking on dodgy links or parting with their money for items that never existed.

“That’s why Virgin Media O2 is doing all it can to stop scammers in their tracks by blocking millions of suspected fraudulent text messages, and by arming parents and guardians with advice so they can confidently talk to teens about how to spot fraud attempts and to stay safe online.”

 

Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at Virgin Media O2

 

Tackling online fraud and scams

As part of it's Find the Right Words campaign with online safety experts, Internet Matters, the organisations are providing parents and guardians with four tips to share with teens to help them swerve the scammers.

These include:

1. Checking the source: Whether it’s on social media, in a video game or through email or
messaging, it’s important to check the source is reliable.

• If a friend or follower sends a link from their account, verify it was in fact them by using a different platform, for example, in case their account was hacked
• See a link from a random internet user? Go to the website a different way instead of clicking on the link, or use a search engine to check its trustworthiness
• Official logos don’t mean something came from that company.

2. Keeping your personal information safe: If anyone online asks for personal information,
payment details or any sort of action, be sure to confirm that it's real before doing so.

• Platforms will not send emails to ask this kind of information, and no one on social media or in-game should either
• Use different passwords for your accounts, use anti-virus software and, if something feels off, ask around and do some research.

3. Stop! Think Fraud: While many online scams have become more sophisticated, there are
some tell-tale signs to look out for that could suggest a scam. If something feels off or like
it's too good to be true, make sure you take time to look into it before clicking links or giving details.

• Spelling and grammatical errors
• Few reviews or low ratings of an item
• Comments from others calling something a scam
• Poor design and layout
• Expensive items for a very low price.

4. Regular conversations: Be curious, proactive and sensitive when talking to teens about
online harms, like scams.

• Have these chats regularly in a relaxed and natural way – for example, when picking kids up for school, cooking dinner, or going to the weekly shop
• Take an interest in what they’re doing when they’re online and try bringing up news stories or TV plotlines relating to internet safety to talk about what they’d do if a similar issue happened to one of their friends
• Use your own experiences to talk about things that might go wrong online, and make sure they know they can talk to you if they’re upset about something.

"It is worrying that over two-thirds of 13-16-year-olds have been targeted by scam messages, with many falling victims to fraud.

 

"This Safer Internet Day we want to arm parents with the knowledge and resources they need to keep their children safe from scams while they spend time online.

 

"Simple actions such as verifying the source of messages and encouraging teens to ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ can make a world of difference.

 

But we can't emphasise the importance of having regular conversations with children about their online activities enough."

 

Ghislaine Bombusa, Content & Digital Director at Internet Matters

Online safety

The Find the Right Words campaign launched last summer to help parents have more confident conversations with children and young people about staying safe online.

It forms part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan, and the company’s aim to improve the digital skills of six million people by the end of 2025.

Parents and guardians can get more support on how to talk to kids about fraud and scams and get more online safety advice at Internet Matters.

*When presented with a fake text for an online retailer, 26% of 13-16 years old surveyed said they would be likely to engage it.

*67.57% of young people aged 13-16 years old believe they have been sent a message from a scammer to their mobile phone. Therefore, Virgin Media O2’s research estimates there are up to 2,155,623 mobile phone owning teens aged 13-16 who have received a scam message.

*‘Very confident or Somewhat confident options combined.