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An elderly man fell victim just before he died
Experts are issuing warnings about three scam text messages that could drain your bank account, following an incident where an elderly man was defrauded just weeks before his death. Online fraud has cost victims hundreds of billions globally over the past year, with more than half of adults reporting they had been targeted in the last 12 months.
Cybersecurity company NordVPN revealed that scam texts have become so sophisticated that poor spelling and glaring errors are no longer dependable indicators that something is fraudulent. Instead, cybersecurity specialists say there are now three key warning signs Britons need to look out for in messages purporting to be from banks, delivery companies or official organisations like HMRC.
The first is urgency. Messages claiming your account will be suspended, a payment will bounce, or a package will be sent back unless you respond immediately are crafted to pressure people into making hasty decisions.
The second is an unsolicited link or phone number. If a message instructs you to click a link or ring a number you weren’t anticipating, experts say warning signs should appear, particularly if it purports to be from your bank, Royal Mail, Evri, DPD or a government agency.
The third is fear. Fraudsters frequently attempt to scare people into responding by alerting them to suspicious account activity, overlooked legal requirements or a security problem that needs resolving urgently.
Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, explained: “Scam texts might have been obvious once upon a time, but that’s not the case anymore. They can be highly sophisticated and very convincing at first glance, especially to the untrained eye or when you don’t receive them often.
“What usually gives them away is not bad spelling or strange formatting. It’s the pressure. The message wants you to do something quickly, before you’ve had time to stop and think.
“They also tend to play on emotion. The message is written to make you worry that money has left your account, you’ve missed a payment, or something has gone wrong with a delivery.”
He advised people against clicking links, calling numbers in texts or allowing themselves to be hurried, noting that any genuine issue can be verified through a company’s official website or app.
NordVPN has introduced a free scam checker tool enabling users to paste in a suspicious message or upload a screenshot to determine whether it might be fraudulent.
The firm stated the service could analyse plain text and image files and cross-reference links, email addresses and phone numbers against known malicious databases.
This follows reports of a woman whose father-in-law was duped into making a payment after fraudsters targeted him shortly before his death. The scam only emerged when relatives examined his paperwork.
Debbie Porter, managing director at Destination Digital Marketing, explained: “My father-in-law was scammed a few weeks before he died and, being elderly, he was trusting. In going through his papers, we discovered a payment from his bank account that led to its discovery. The bank took no responsibility for this fraudulent payout because he had consented to the payment, which is the path the scammers are trying to lead you down.”
She emphasised that identifying the signs of a scam was crucial in preventing others from experiencing her father-in-law’s misfortune.
She added: “Almost all urgent ‘pay now’ messages should be treated with a high degree of vigilance. If it comes from a business you have purchased from, then independently researching the company’s telephone number and calling them directly rather than from the text is a best practice every single time. This new scam checker tool from NordVPN is a great idea if it helps people avoid the trap my elderly father-in-law fell into.”
This comes amidst increasing worries about the role of artificial intelligence in online fraud, with experts cautioning that criminals can now produce more convincing messages on a larger scale.
Dil Gujral, chief AI trainer at AI Now Academy, warned: “If you think scam texts are bad, wait till they start using AI to impersonate family members for extortion.”
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, founder of Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, noted that scam messages are now meticulously crafted to resemble routine service updates.
He explained: “Advice like this matters because scam texts now look and feel like real service messages. The language is polished, the sender name can be spoofed, and the story is designed to get you to act before you think. Urgency plus a link is the classic trap.
“My simple rule is: do not interact with the message. Do not tap the link, do not reply, and do not call the number in the text. Instead, go to the organisation via a channel you already trust.”
He advised people to activate spam filtering, ensure their phone and banking apps are up to date, establish account alerts and utilise two-factor authentication wherever feasible. However, not everyone believes the responsibility should rest solely with the public.
Colette Mason, author and AI consultant at Clever Clogs AI in London, argued that scam texts were increasingly an “infrastructure problem” rather than simply one of personal awareness.
She said: “The person who falls for one isn’t careless. They’re a parent distracted at school pickup, or someone genuinely worried about a missed delivery. Until the infrastructure changes, ‘look out for urgency and dodgy links’ is a sticking plaster on a structural wound.”
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