--- title: "Leveling up UK scam defense: how O2 made the move from flagging to outright blocking" description: With Hiya, O2 has moved from flagging scam calls to blocking them, with more than 3 million fraudulent calls a week expected to be stopped. Here's how it works and what it delivers. image: https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/Operators-Hiya_VMO2-UK.webp --- [![Hiya logo](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/hiya-new-purple.svg)](https://www.hiya.com/) Solutions Solutions [For Mobile Operators Protect your network](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/operators) [For Businesses Brand your calls](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/businesses) [For People Get the mobile app](https://www.hiya.com/products/apps/hiya-spam-blocker) ###### Webinar Branded Calling 101 Weekly Webinar Make your company's calls more recognizable. Learn how Hiya can drive value for your business. 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[Read eBook Arrow Right](https://www.hiya.com/resources/ebooks/10-tips-for-customer-friendly-phone-calls) [Get Started Arrow Right](https://www.hiya.com/#audience) [Log in](https://connect.hiya.com/login) [Get started](https://www.hiya.com/#audience) - [Home](https://hiya.com) - [Blog](https://blog.hiya.com) - [Leveling up UK scam defense: how O2 made the move from ...](https://blog.hiya.com/leveling-up-uk-scam-defense-how-o2-made-the-move-from-flagging-to-outright-blocking) [Company News](https://blog.hiya.com/tag/company-news) [Hiya Protect](https://blog.hiya.com/tag/hiya-protect) [Spam & Fraud Protection](https://blog.hiya.com/tag/spam-fraud-protection) # Leveling up UK scam defense: how O2 made the move from flagging to outright blocking [Camilla Dickson](https://blog.hiya.com/author/camilla-dickson) Nov. 9, 2026 [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/icon-fb.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.hiya.com/leveling-up-uk-scam-defense-how-o2-made-the-move-from-flagging-to-outright-blocking) [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/icon-x.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.hiya.com/leveling-up-uk-scam-defense-how-o2-made-the-move-from-flagging-to-outright-blocking&text=Leveling+up+UK+scam+defense%3A+how+O2+made+the+move+from+flagging+to+outright+blocking) [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/icon-linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.hiya.com/leveling-up-uk-scam-defense-how-o2-made-the-move-from-flagging-to-outright-blocking) ## At a glance - O2 has moved from flagging suspected scam calls to blocking them in real time, using Hiya’s AI-powered fraud call protection. - More than 3 million fraudulent calls a week are expected to be stopped before they reach customers’ phones, based on trial results. - Scammers kept trying: 60% of blocked calls were repeat attempts within a minute, and flagged numbers made three times as many calls after being blocked. - The move supports the UK Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter pillar on using AI responsibly to prevent fraud. ![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/Operators-Hiya_VMO2-UK.webp) ## What's better than a warning on a scam call? A call that never reaches you. The first defense against phone fraud is the warning label: a spotlight that points out the scammers, but still gives them the opportunity to be answered. The next stage is kicking them off the platform entirely, before they even get the chance to act. That's the shift O2 has made with Hiya for subscribers across the UK. O2 has upgraded its AI-powered fraud call protection from flagging suspected scams to blocking them in real time, free for all customers. After a successful trial this autumn, more than 3 million fraudulent calls a week are expected to be stopped before they reach customers' phones.   ## Fraud is getting harder to decipher - so let’s not listen The stakes are rising because fraud is getting harder to spot once a call connects. In our State of the Call 2026 report, nearly one in three respondents (31%) said they received a deepfake in the last year, and another 15% weren't sure, given how realistic they can be. If you can't always tell by listening, stopping the call earlier matters even more. People are losing serious money, and the best protection is not giving scammers the chance to try. We found the average UK loss to phone scams in the last 12 months was £784. With financial and emotional wellbeing on the line, consumers are looking for greater protection. As to who is responsible for that protection, the most commonly cited organization was operators (31%), ahead of government (21%), tech companies (20%) and banks (6%). O2 is responding directly to that need, rolling out automatic blocking of flagged fraud calls to all subscribers. ## Earning the right to block The move to blocking from flagging is earned with evidence. Here's what that looked like: 1. **Flagging at scale.** Since the start of 2024, O2 has used Hiya's technology to flag more than 1.6 billion suspected scam and spam calls. That gave O2 a continuous feed of real-time insight into emerging threats, and it proved accurate over time. 2. **Detection that keeps learning.** Hiya's AI-assisted algorithms monitor the network for nuisance callers and keep refining detection from customer reports and analysis of call behavior. Behind that sits what we see across the world's networks: 28 billion calls analyzed every month. 3. **Proof in trial.** O2 tested blocking, and measured what happened to the scammers as well as to customers. 4. **Protection that switches on by itself.** The service is now being rolled out automatically to all compatible devices. Customers don't need to do anything. Legitimate calls continue to get through. Suspected spam calls will still be flagged, so customers can choose whether to answer. And the upgrade expands what O2 can block beyond calls from numbers on Ofcom's Do Not Originate list, a registry of numbers that should never make outbound calls. ## The insight: protecting customers while wasting scammers’ time One of the most interesting results came from analyzing scam call behaviors: - **60% of blocked calls were repeat attempts** made within a minute of the first. - A number flagged as fraud made **three times as many calls** after being blocked as it did before. In other words, fraudsters kept trying, apparently unaware they were being blocked. That wastes their efforts and keeps them from targeting other people. Therein lies the power of blocking at network-level: ## A UK national priority, realized in partnership between operators and technology The UK has made the fight against phone fraud a national priority, laid out in the [Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/690872f5c0dc8f1248417510/UK+Telecomunications+Fraud+Sector+Charter+Proof+v2.0.pdf). As a member of the [Communications Crime Strategy Group](https://www.communicationscrimestrategy.group/), Virgin Media O2 pledged to support the charters’ eight pillars for improving awareness and protection against fraud for the general public, in collaboration with the government, law enforcement, and other operators. The introduction of automated fraud blocking at the network level is a clear move forward on one of the charter’s strategic pillars: Using AI Responsibly to Prevent Fraud. Here is a national strategy, enabled by public and private sector collaboration: Government sets the ambition, operators provide the scale and support to customers, technology partners bring the detection intelligence to act at the speed fraud moves. This launch shows the impact when they line up together, and Fraud Minister Lord Hanson welcomed O2’s move in alignment with the charter. ## Blocking is a milestone, not the finish line Scammers evolve too, so protection has to keep advancing. That means models that keep learning, and defenses that start before the phone rings and don’t stop there. Hiya Protect helps keep subscribers safe at all stages of the call, including before it rings. [Learn more](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/operators) about our fraud defense capabilities. 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