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Research: 26% Brit teens likely to be lured by scam texts

February 5, 2025

Virgin Media O2 is urging parents and guardians to speak to teens about the risks of scam texts, as new research reveals a quarter (26 per cent) of 13-to-16-year-olds are likely to be lured in by a scam text.  

It comes as Virgin Media O2 blocked 168 million suspected fraudulent text messages over the past two years.

Tech-savvy teens fall foul to fraudsters

Ahead of Safer Internet Day (February 11th), the research reveals up to 2.2 million mobile phone owning teens aged 13-16 have received a scam text. Of them, more than 4 in 10 (43 per cent) say they’ve clicked on a link that downloaded harmful software onto their device, while 41 per cent have provided personal details such as their name or address. Moreover, a third (34 per cent) say they’ve been tricked into buying goods that never arrived.

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

The study shows more than a fifth (23 per cent) didn’t know scammers could pretend to be from their favourite brand in order to defraud them, and almost half (48 per cent) 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.

Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at Virgin Media O2, said: “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.”

Ghislaine Bombusa, Content & Digital Director at Internet Matters, added: “It is worrying that over two-thirds of 13-16-year-olds have been targeted by scam texts, 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.”

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Mobile, Research

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