Reports of text message scams jumped by more than 1000% last year after a new reporting feature was introduced, according to the Department of Internal Affairs’ latest Digital Messaging Transparency Report.

The 2025 report shows the department received more than 1.39 million reports of SMS scams, up 1240% from just over 103,000 reports in 2024.

Department of Internal Affairs general manager of digital safety and identity investigations Jared Mullen said the rise was largely because of the introduction of one-click reporting on Apple devices at the end of 2024.

“The significant increase in reports demonstrates how making reporting easier can improve our visibility of scam activity targeting New Zealanders,” Mullen said.

The feature allows users to report suspicious text messages directly from their phones with a single tap.

The department is now extending the capability to Android users.

The report also recorded a smaller increase in email scam reporting, with nearly 58,000 reports received in 2025, up 8% on the previous year.

Mullen said scammers continued to impersonate trusted organisations and brands to trick people into sharing personal information or making payments.

“Criminals are increasingly using convincing messages, trusted brands and emerging technologies to make scams appear legitimate. This makes it more important than ever for New Zealanders to remain vigilant and report suspicious messages.”

He said information supplied by the public played a critical role in identifying scam trends and helping authorities disrupt fraudulent activity.

The report highlights growing collaboration between government agencies and industry partners to combat increasingly sophisticated scam and spam campaigns.

As part of that effort, the Government launched the New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance in July 2025, bringing together agencies and industry groups to strengthen the country’s response to scams.

The department also supported a cross-sector pilot involving telecommunications providers, banks, digital platforms and government agencies to improve intelligence sharing and disruption efforts.

The Digital Messaging Team last year worked with industry partners to disrupt scam campaigns, referring more than 760,000 web links and phone numbers for blocking.

The full report is available on the Department of Internal Affairs website. New Zealanders can report spam text messages using the “Report Junk” feature on supported mobile devices, by forwarding texts to 7726, or by reporting scam emails through the Report Spam website.