EE has brought in new technology to block scam calls and warns that it has been stopping millions of scammers each day.
In what is being described as "industrial scale" scamming by industrial experts, the network and broadband company has said that it has blocked 11million scam calls in total since July on top of 200 million scam texts.
The consumer experts at Which? are now calling for the Government and businesses to work together in an effort to curb the huge number of attempted scams.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: "These latest figures show that scammers are targeting consumers on an industrial scale and will stop at nothing to steal people’s money and personal information.
"The high number of scam calls and text messages EE is blocking further demonstrates why a joined-up approach is needed across a number of government departments and business sectors including finance, tech and telecoms firms – to make it harder for fraudsters to exploit systemic weaknesses to reach potential victims.
"The onus shouldn’t fall on consumers but it is important they are made aware of how they can spot scams. People can sign up to Which?’s scam alert service to keep themselves informed about the latest tactics used by fraudsters."
EE's new anti-scamming technology uses Artificial Intelligence to review calls passing through UK Calling Line Identification from other countries and blocks those pretending to be based in the UK.
The technology will also work across EE's sister companies, BT and Plusnet, in their bid to combat the rise in scams.
Chris Howe, Customer Care Change Director at EE, said: “We are investing in the latest technology to ensure as many scam calls as possible are blocked before they reach our customers.
"Everyone should feel confident answering their phone or reading a text message without the fear of potentially getting scammed."
How to spot scam texts and calls
According to Ofcom, many scam calls and texts have common traits such as a sense of urgency and details that don't seem right such as an unknown number, or a strange link if it is a text.
If a call feels off, Ofcom advises that you hang up and call the company they claim to be from to check if it is a scam.
EE adds that scammers may tell you something that seems too good to be true.
What to do if you spot a scam
If you spot a scam text, do not click the link that the text is asking you to click as it will likely contain malware. The same goes for a scam call, do not hand over your details unless you are confident that you are talking to an official company representative.
You should report the number to Ofcom who will investigate the scam. You can report the scam to 7726.
You should also block the number to avoid any future scam attempts.
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