New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) received 1,390,957 reports of SMS scams in 2025, up 1,240% from 103,834 in 2024. DIA attributes the increase to one-click reporting on supported Apple devices.
Introduced in December 2024, the feature lets users select “Report Junk” to automatically forward suspicious messages to the 7726 reporting service, rather than forwarding them manually. It was developed through collaboration between Apple, New Zealand telcos, and messaging platform Modica.
The change is illustrated in the chart below from the Commsrisk Global Fraud Dashboard.
SMS Reports to 7726 in New Zealand
Announcing the figures on 16 September 2026, Jared Mullen, DIA’s General Manager, Digital Safety and Identity Investigations, said:
The significant increase in reports demonstrates how making reporting easier can improve our visibility of scam activity targeting New Zealanders.
In its September announcement, DIA said it was extending one-click reporting to Android users.
You can explore this series and other data on scam reporting and prevention in the Commsrisk Global Fraud Dashboard. Further details are available in DIA’s announcement and its 2024/25 annual report.
