Stay safe from scams and spam - see who’s calling with Brand ID and Call Defence
With scammers using new tech and tactics, it’s getting harder to spot nuisance and fraudulent calls. So, we’ve introduced some services at no extra cost to help protect your time, money and peace of mind.
Brand ID lets you know when a genuine business is calling by showing their name on your screen, while Call Defence checks phone numbers to let you know if a call might be a scam or spam. It’s up to you whether you answer, but remember you should always be wary when giving any personal information over the phone.
If you’re on a Pay Monthly custom plan, SIM Only plan or with O2 Business, you’ll automatically see Brand ID and Call Defence labelling. No action is required from you to turn them on, but if you’re using an iPhone, you need to be running iOS 18.
An example of Brand ID and Call Defence on your phone screen:
Not all calls will be labelled by these services. You should always remain vigilant when asked to provide personal information over the phone. If you’re ever concerned, you should hang up. O2 is not liable if you fall victim to a spam or scam call.
Telephone Preference Services (TPS)
Getting lots of unwanted calls and texts is annoying and can be worrying if you don’t know where they’re coming from. Register your mobile number via TPS to reduce the number of unsolicited live sales and marketing calls from businesses. Just text TPS with your email address to 85095.
If you’re receiving calls 28 days after registering, raise a complaint with TPS. You can also send an email to nuisance@telefonica.com with your mobile number and the number(s) calling you and we’ll notify the regulators.
Missed calls
If you get a missed call from a number you don’t know, think twice before calling them back, as you might be charged for the call. Sometimes these numbers only ring for a short time to force you to call them back. You should report these calls to nuisance@telefonica.com.
Spam texts
If you're getting spam texts, you can forward them to 7726. If appropriate, we'll report it to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If the calls and texts have resulted in any fraudulent activity, we may need to report the experience to Action Fraud.
We may occasionally contact you about promotions and services that may interest you. If you don't want to receive further information from us, read our Privacy Policy for more information or contact us and we'll take you off our lists.
Visit Ofcom, Which?, Action Fraud and ICO for further industry advice.
Malicious calls and texts
Malicious, abusive, or threatening calls are a criminal offence. If the caller is making direct threats and you believe they are real and immediate, call 999. If you don’t think they’re immediate, you should call your local police station on 101. In both instances, the police will decide the course of action to take against the offender(s).
If the phone numbers are being withheld, the police may advise you to contact us, and we'll arrange to trace the calls. This information can then be sent to the police (and only the police). As well as speaking to our malicious calls team over the phone, you can email malicious@telefonica.com with the details.
If you want to change your mobile number get in touch and we'll help you with this. If you need more advice, take a look at the Ofcom guide on how to deal with malicious calls.
Brand ID and Call Defence FAQs
We’ve let you know about these services because you’ll soon have access to at least one of them, at no extra cost.
If you’re on a Pay Monthly custom plan, SIM Only plan or with O2 Business, you’ll automatically see Brand ID and Call Defence labelling. No action is required from you to turn them on, but if you’re using an iPhone, you need to be running iOS 18.
No – they’ll be switched on automatically. If you’re using an iPhone, you need to be running iOS 18.
These services run on the O2 network, so you’ll need to be in the UK for them to work.
No – they’ll only work on incoming calls on the O2 network.
Brand ID can’t be switched off, but you’re able to opt out of Call Defence if you’re on a Pay Monthly custom plan or SIM Only plan. To do this, get in touch with us by calling 202 on your O2 mobile, or messaging us on social media or webchat here, and we’ll sort it for you.
The service you’ve already got might override Brand ID and Call Defence.
We’re rolling out these services in stages, and we’ll message when they’re available to you.
No, sorry – they only work on smartphones.
No – Brand ID is powered by Hiya, and only companies that have an agreement with them will be labelled. So, you might get calls from genuine businesses that aren’t labelled. Please remember, you should always be wary when giving any personal info over the phone, and if you’re ever worried, just hang up.
No – our services are constantly improving, but we can’t guarantee that all scam and spam calls will be labelled. You should always be wary when giving any personal info over the phone, and if you’re ever worried, please hang up.
Please get in touch with the incorrectly labelled business directly. Then, they can sort things out with Hiya.
If your calls are being mislabelled, you can fill out this form. Then, Hiya can sort things out.
To report a scam call, simply text 7726 with the word ‘Call’ followed by the scam caller’s number.
You can also download the Hiya app from the Google Play or App Store and report it on there too.
Terms apply.
Brand ID and Call Defence: Pay monthly customers only. iOS devices require iOS 18. Call labelling services for incoming calls on O2’s UK network only. Brand ID labels companies registered with our service provider Hiya. Call Defence helps detect potential suspicious calls, but we can’t guarantee that all spam or scam calls will be labelled. O2 accepts no liability for third party fraud.
