More than 26 million calls that were suspected scams were intercepted by one of the largest mobile phone operators in the State last year, while close to half a million fraudulent text messages were also blocked, according to a new report.
Three Ireland has also highlighted that the problem of scam calls and texts is continuing with its fraud team having already blocked more than four million scam calls and intercepted more than 650,000 fraudulent text messages in the first five months of this year.
Three said the figures reflected a broader, industry-wide challenge, with fraudsters continuously evolving their tactics to target customers through both phone calls and text messages.
On a single day alone – Friday, May 8th, 2026 – more than 27,000 scam calls were blocked on Three’s network alone, while over 5,000 suspicious calls were flagged to customers with a “possible scam” warning, illustrating the scale and intensity of attempted fraud activity.
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Fraud and economic crime in Ireland have risen sharply in recent years, with a 137 per cent increase in fraud offences in 2025, driven by both the growth of online scams and improvements in reporting and detection.
While traditional scam texts and emails remain in circulation, there is a growing shift towards more sophisticated call-based and social engineering scams, where fraudsters attempt to manipulate customers into sharing sensitive information in real time.
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A typical scam might involve a customer receiving a call from what appears to be an Irish mobile or landline number, with the caller falsely claiming to be from their provider. They may create urgency – for example, relating to an account issue or a promotional offer – and attempt to obtain security codes or personal details.
Three Ireland said fraudsters were increasingly: impersonating trusted organisations, including telecoms providers and using numbers that appear legitimate or familiar.
Criminals also create pressure during live interactions and attempt to gain access to accounts through social engineering.
The company highlighted how it has been investing heavily in fraud detection and prevention, including network-level call filtering and blocking technologies, real-time monitoring of suspicious activity and automated detection of spoofed numbers.
It pointed to recent enhancements, including expanded blocking of spoofed international numbers which it said were contributing to high levels of fraudulent activity being intercepted across the network.
“Scam calls and messages are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and unfortunately more common,” said Tom Kinsella, chief consumer officer at Three Ireland. “Blocking over 26 million suspected scam calls last year demonstrates both the scale of the challenge and the effectiveness of the protections we have in place.”
He said that while the company intercepts large volumes of suspicious activity “vigilance remains key. Customers should always be cautious of unexpected calls or messages and never share personal or account information, including one-time security codes.”
