Phone users in the U.K. are being warned by carrier O2 that a new scam is hitting consumers. A fraudulent text message is doing the rounds that demands customers take action. However, they shouldn’t.
The text looks convincing and is even designed to look like it comes from an official O2 number.
The carrier said on June 19, 2026 that the message comes in different forms but an example of it reads, “O2UK: IMPORTANT: Your SIM Card(s) will be inactive on 04/06/2026, because you have NOT signed our Terms and Conditions. Logon
How The Fake O2 SIM Expiry Scam Works
Most users know that SIM cards don’t expire in usual circumstances, but a change to terms and conditions could be reason enough for exceptional behavior. The link takes users to a website which is designed to look like O2’s and is there to steal customers’ usernames and passwords.
“Fraudsters can then take over MyO2 accounts and use passwords to try and hack other accounts,” news website express.co.uk reported.
Instead, users should not interact with the scam text and certainly not click on the link it contains. If in doubt, call O2 or log in to your account from the official page instead to check the situation.
How To Report SMS Scams In The U.K.
The carrier is also asking users of all carriers to report suspected scams to the same text number: 7726. Scams are not restricted to one network, of course, and in recent days, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone Three and BT/EE, the three U.K. carriers have all met with the government’s Minister of Fraud to discuss how collaboration can help tackle fraud.
“At Virgin Media O2, we’re doing all we can to help Brits swerve the scammers, from blocking scam texts and malicious websites to rolling out enhanced fraud monitoring on online accounts. Every report to 7726 helps us act faster to shut down scams at source, so we’re urging everyone to play their part and forward suspicious messages,” Murray Mackenzie, Director of Fraud Prevention at Virgin Media O2 said.
The carrier also advised customers never to click on a link in an unexpected message, and advised that if you have done so and entered login details, to change your password immediately.
Text message scams are increasingly rife. The only good thing about that is messages coming from an unknown number can be enough to keep people on their guard, but when it seems to come from your network, it’s easier to be fooled.
All this comes at a time where it looks like Apple may be working on a new feature that uses a combination of software and hardware to make snatched iPhones instantly impregnable, according to code revealed in the first betas for iOS 26.6.
