Fraudsters send out fake messages in a bid to convince unwary shoppers to hand over personal information and banking details. Groups including Royal Mail, Amazon, Evri (formerly Hermes) and DHL have issued advice on how to identify and avoid falling prey to delivery scam texts.
Fraudsters send out fake messages in a bid to convince unwary shoppers to hand over personal information and banking details.
The bogus texts will often have links to fake websites, where people are encouraged to hand over personal information, such as bank account details to pay a charge for an item or to confirm their address.
Action Fraud encourages consumers to reach out to an organisation themself if they are unsure a text message is legitimate.
The group said: “Don’t use the numbers or address in the message – use the details from their official website.
“Remember, your bank (or any other official source) will never ask you to supply personal information via email.”
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Royal Mail said it would only send email and text messages if the sender of an item has requested this when purchasing a trackable delivery.
A spokesperson said: “In cases where customers need to pay a surcharge for an underpaid item, we would let them know by leaving a grey Fee To Pay card.
“We would not request payment by email or text. The only time we would ask customers to make a payment by email or by SMS is in instances where a customs…
