What 7726 is
7726 spells SPAM on a phone keypad. It is a short reporting number shared by the major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, and many smaller ones. Sending a report to it is free and does not count against your texts.
Your report goes to your own carrier, not to the scammer. The scammer is not told.
How to report a text
- Do not tap any link in the message and do not reply, not even STOP.
- Forward the message to 7726. On an iPhone, touch and hold the bubble, tap More, then the curved arrow. On Android, touch and hold the message, then tap Forward (in Google Messages, tap the three dots first).
- Your carrier may text back asking for the phone number or email address the scam came from. Copy it from the top of the original conversation and reply with it.
- Delete the scam text and block the sender.
Also report it inside your messaging app
- On an iPhone, look under a text from an unknown sender for Report Junk, or Report Spam on newer versions. Tapping it sends the report to Apple and deletes the message.
- In Google Messages, open the conversation, tap the three dots, tap Details, then Block and report spam.
- In Samsung Messages, touch and hold the conversation, tap More, then Block, and choose to report if offered.
When to report somewhere else too
If you lost money or shared personal details, 7726 is not enough. Call your bank first, then report at reportfraud.ftc.gov. For texts pretending to be Social Security, you can also report at oig.ssa.gov.
If you are not sure whether a text is a scam, you can forward it to Uncle first and ask.
Stuck on a step?
Text Uncle at +1 208 214 0093 and tell him what you see on your screen. He walks you through it in plain words, one step at a time.
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Written by the Textuncle team. Last updated October 3, 2026.
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