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What is an unsolicited text or phone call?
An unsolicited text or phone call is contact you did not ask for and did not agree to receive. In the UK, this often means a marketing message, sales call, or scam attempt sent to your mobile or landline without your consent.
These messages can come from legitimate companies, but they can also be from fraudsters. The key issue is that the contact is unexpected and not wanted.
Common examples
Unsolicited texts may include offers for loans, investments, prizes, or energy deals. They can also ask you to click a link, call a number, or provide personal details.
Unsolicited phone calls often involve automated messages, sales pitches, or someone claiming to be from your bank, HMRC, or a delivery company. Some are nuisance calls, while others are designed to trick you into sharing sensitive information.
Why they matter
These calls and texts can be annoying, but they can also be harmful. Scammers use them to steal money, passwords, and bank details, or to persuade people to transfer funds.
Even genuine marketing contact can feel intrusive if it arrives without permission. Repeated unwanted calls can be stressful and disruptive, especially for older people or anyone dealing with fraud risks.
What the rules are in the UK
In the UK, organisations must follow data protection and privacy laws when contacting people by text or phone. For marketing calls, companies generally need your consent, unless a very limited exemption applies.
You can also register your number with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to reduce unwanted sales calls. This will not stop every nuisance call, but it should cut down legitimate marketing contact.
How to respond
If you receive an unsolicited text, do not click links or reply unless you are sure the message is genuine. If the message looks suspicious, delete it and report it if needed.
For unwanted calls, you can hang up immediately. If the caller claims to be from a bank or another trusted organisation, end the call and contact the company using a number from its official website or your card.
When to be extra cautious
Be especially careful if the message creates urgency, asks for personal information, or pressures you to act quickly. Scammers often use fear, excitement, or threats to stop you thinking clearly.
If you have already shared details or made a payment, contact your bank straight away. You should also report suspicious messages to your mobile provider and to the relevant UK reporting service, such as Action Fraud for scams.
Frequently Asked Questions
An unsolicited text or phone call is a message or call you did not request and were not expecting, often sent for marketing, scams, or other outreach.
You may have received an unsolicited text or phone call because your number was shared, purchased, generated randomly, or obtained from public or marketing lists.
Some unsolicited text or phone calls are legal, but many are restricted by consumer protection and telemarketing laws, especially if they violate consent, do-not-call rules, or anti-spam rules.
An unsolicited text or phone call may be a scam if it asks for personal information, demands urgent action, includes suspicious links, threatens consequences, or offers deals that seem too good to be true.
After receiving an unsolicited text or phone call, avoid sharing personal information, verify the sender if needed, block the number if appropriate, and report suspicious activity to the relevant provider or authority.
You can block an unsolicited text or phone call using your phone's blocking features, your messaging app's spam controls, or call-filtering tools from your carrier.
You can report an unsolicited text or phone call to your mobile carrier, phone manufacturer tools, consumer protection agencies, and, in some cases, national do-not-call or anti-spam authorities.
You can ask an unsolicited text or phone call sender to stop, but be cautious because replying may confirm your number is active. For suspicious messages, blocking and reporting is often safer.
You should not click links in an unsolicited text or phone call message unless you are certain the sender is legitimate, because links may lead to phishing sites or malware.
You should never share passwords, verification codes, bank details, Social Security numbers, one-time passcodes, or other sensitive personal information in response to an unsolicited text or phone call.
An unsolicited text or phone call can lead to costs if you call premium-rate numbers, respond to fraudulent requests, or agree to unwanted services, but the message itself usually does not charge you directly.
You can reduce future unsolicited text or phone calls by registering on do-not-call lists where available, limiting where you share your number, using spam filters, and reviewing privacy settings.
No, not all unsolicited text or phone calls are illegal robocalls. Some may be live calls, some may be permitted informational messages, and some may be unlawful depending on consent and local rules.
If an unsolicited text or phone call claims to be from your bank, do not use the contact details in the message. Call your bank using the official number from its website or your card.
Yes, an unsolicited text or phone call can spoof a real number, making it look like the call or message came from a trusted source when it did not.
Spam filters help with unsolicited text or phone calls by detecting suspicious patterns, flagging likely spam, and automatically moving or blocking unwanted messages and calls.
An unsolicited text or phone call is sent without your request, while a legitimate business message is usually related to a service you use and is sent with proper consent or an existing relationship.
In some places, you may be able to sue over an unsolicited text or phone call if it violated telemarketing, privacy, or anti-spam laws, but eligibility depends on the facts and local law.
You can document an unsolicited text or phone call by saving the message, taking screenshots, noting the date and time, recording the number, and keeping any related voicemail or call details.
Consumer protection agencies, your phone carrier, your device's spam-reporting tools, and a qualified attorney can help with an unsolicited text or phone call complaint depending on the issue.
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