More than half of phone calls made to landlines are from scammers because fraudsters target elderly users, a report has claimed.
Fraudsters deliberately use the outdated phone system to target the elderly, knowing that younger generations use their mobiles instead.
Two thirds of British households retain a landline and three in five of those said they received more fraudulent calls than legitimate ones.
Campaigners warned that scammers know this and are targeting landlines to find older people who are more likely to fall for their tricks.
The survey of 4,000 people by Consumer Intelligence found only half of 18 to 29-year-olds still have a landline.
BT revealed that its AI-powered blocking service detected more than 17.7million scam calls and blocked 2.4million since its introduction in May.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK told The Telegraph: ‘Landlines are a lifeline for millions of older customers, particularly those who are not online, don’t use a mobile, or live in a rural area with poor connectivity.’
It comes as the UK’s telephone network prepares to become completely digital by 2027.
But the controversial move has been put on hold following concerns the elderly and vulnerable might be at risk as many consider their analogue landline to be a lifeline.
According to Ofcom’s annual technology tracker, the majority of Brits do not have a home phone.
Just 47 per cent of UK homes have a landline as of 2024, as more people are relying on their smart phones to communicate — and voice calls are going out of fashion.
Data suggests that fourth fifths of people aged 65 and over continue to rely on their landline telephone.
In December 2023, the Government was alerted to cases in which the changeover had stopped telecare devices working, particularly those in rural and isolated areas.
Around 1.8million elderly and disabled people rely on the alarms, which are worn around the neck or wrist and automatically call a response centre over the landline in a health emergency.
When the phone lines need internet signal, telecare systems will simply stop working if coverage drops. In contrast, traditional copper phone lines typically continue to work even in power cuts.
Following the reports, telecoms providers – including Sky and TalkTalk – were summoned to Westminster where they ‘committed to concrete measures to protect vulnerable households’.
Video calls became more popular during Covid lockdowns, which may have contributed to the drop in home phone ownership from 77 per cent to 66 per cent in 2020 to 2021.
There was also a rise in the number of complaints about nuisance calls during that period, causing many people to stop answering the phone altogether.
Younger people in particular prefer to use text messages and video calls as their preferred method of communication.
And just 16 per cent of under 25s have a landline.
However, it appears some teens and those in their early twenties are bringing back the trend, with vintage phones selling out on eBay and other resell sites and some people even getting landlines installed in their homes.