Dangerous text scams from bank ‘smishing’ to fake Royal Mail and Hermes messages

Fraudsters are trying a number of different ways to try and con people out of their hard-earned cash.

During lockdown, there have been several scams doing the rounds in the UK, including Lancashire, where fraudsters have tried to catch people off guard with fake texts.

Here at LancsLive we ourselves have received numerous scam messages from con-artists purporting to be from Royal Mail, Hermes, HSBC, and Halifax just to name a few.

One of the most common text scams doing the rounds at the moment is known as “smishing”.

Smishing involves fraudsters sending a text saying they are from your bank and they need you to update personal details or speak with you urgently.

Scammers often send fake text messages that look like they’ve come from your bank, or another trusted organisation. Their goal is to get you to reply with your personal or financial information.

Typically, they’ll encourage you to take urgent action, ask you to verify new payees, transactions or devices, and will look similar to real messages. They may even show up in the same thread as genuine messages you’ve received from an organisation.

We take a look at scams that are doing the rounds in the UK at the moment.

Halifax smishing scam

Fraudsters have been sending text messages to Brits pretending to be from Halifax bank.

One message doing the rounds at the moment claims that a payment was “attempted from a new device”.

It then asks the recipient to click on a link which will take you through to a fake website where it will attempt to steal your username and password.

The message is being sent to those who do not even bank with Halifax.

Advice on Halifax’s website states that anyone who receives a message that seems odd should not reply. The bank urges people not to open any links or attachments. It adds that if you are ever unsure if a message or email is genuine then you should “use the number on the back of your bank card and we can help to check the text or email message.”

You can forward scam emails to them at security@halifax.co.uk or use 7726 to report the scam text for free to your network provider.

Remember, if you’re not sure about an email or text message – do not reply and delete it.

Census scam

Action Fraud is warning people to be wary over scams relating to the Census 2021.

The once-a-decade Census day took place on Sunday, March 21, and by law, you must complete or be accounted for in the census.

Those who failed to fill it in or gave false information could be fined up to £1,000.

Official census-branded reminder letters are being sent to households who have not yet completed their census form.

You may even receive a knock on the door from a legitimate census field officer, who will provide help or encouragement to those still yet to fill in their census questionnaire.

Action Fraud is warning people not to fall victim to fake officers who are purporting to be from the Government.

Action Fraud warns: “Field officers will never ask for payment or bank details. They will never ask for personal details such as your national insurance number and do not need to enter your home.

“You will never be issued with a fine by text message, phone call or email.”

HSBC bank scam

Bogus text messages are being sent to HSBC customers saying a new payment has been made through our mobile banking app on their phone.

Customers are then asked to validate their bank details through a website given in the text message.

Do not access the site or provide any information – only log on to online banking through hsbc.co.uk.

Advice on the HSBC website states: “If you’ve received a text message that looks like it may have come from HSBC, have a look here to see if it really did come from us. Criminals have become very sophisticated in enticing you to click on links or call phone numbers that belong to them.”

They add: “If you’ve given anyone your personal or security details, please call us immediately using the number on the back of your debit or credit card.”

Royal Mail scam

People are being warned to watch out for a new text message scam in which criminals pose as Royal Mail in an attempt to steal personal and financial details.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said it has received evidence of the scam, which uses a text message to claim a parcel is awaiting delivery but a “settlement” must first be paid.

The message also includes a link which leads to a fraudulent website posing as a Royal Mail page and asks for personal and payment details, which could then be used by scammers for further fraud.

Another scam message seen by LancsLive states that Royal Mail has attempted to deliver a parcel and the recipient must now pay a fee in order for it to be redelivered. The user is then asked to click a link which takes them to a fraudulent website.

Concerns have been raised about an increase in online scams since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic as millions of people began spending more time online and there was a surge in online shopping.

The CTSI warned that the rise in online shopping means more people are likely to be waiting for parcels and deliveries, making them more vulnerable to this kind of scam.

Lead officer Katherine Hart said: “This delivery scam is yet another example of fraudsters attempting to make money out of the unsuspecting public. Due to the lockdowns, many millions of people rely on product deliveries, so scammers have focused their efforts on this theme.

“Royal Mail will only ever contact you via text or email if a customs fee is due, not for domestic parcel delivery. If you have any suspicions, contact Royal Mail to verify before you click any links or share details.

“Also, the public must also be aware that these types of scams may come in many forms, and scammers do not only use Royal Mail branding.”

People are encouraged to report scams to Action Fraud, or for email scams contact the National Cyber Security Centre by emailing report@phishing.gov.uk.

Hermes fake texts

A scam text claiming to be from Hermes is targeting people in the UK.

It claims that a package has a shipping fee that must be paid, and asks people to click a link.

Trading Standards Officers, including a team in Cumbria, have urged people not to press the link or respond.

They said: “Forward scam text messages, including the phone number or company name, to 7726.

“It won’t cost you anything and it means your phone provider can investigate the sender.”

Advice on Hermes website urges customers to be sceptical when receiving shipment confirmations or other emails from companies you have not ordered anything from.

It adds: “When these emails contain attachments, delete the email straight away. Under no circumstances should you open the attachment. These can contain malware that self-installs on your computer. Hermes does not send such emails, nor are such sent on Hermes’ behalf.”

Hermes says that often rogue frausters are trying to “trick unsuspecting users into installing harmful programs such as spyware, trojans or viruses.”

Coronavirus-related fraud

Coronavirus-related fraud has resulted in losses of £34.5 million in the past year, police have said.

Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud, has received 6,073 reports of Covid-linked fraud and cyber crime since March 1, 2020.

This has led to more than 2,000 websites, phone numbers and email addresses being taken down, with City of London Police arresting 156 people.

The peak reports of Covid-19 related crime were in April and May 2020, and then in January 2021, which was linked to a vaccine scam.

Romance fraud, where victims are conned out of money by fraudsters pretending to want a relationship, went up by a fifth in the same period.

Members of the public report potential scams to Action Fraud, and the information is assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which is run by City of London Police (CoLP).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,030 websites, 425 phone numbers and 597 email addresses have been taken down by the NFIB.

CoLP’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit has also taken down a number of websites believed to be selling fake goods linked to the pandemic including counterfeit testing kits and masks.

The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), staffed by CoLP and the Met Police, has made 56 arrests linked to coronavirus over the past year, around a quarter of which were linked to so-called “smishing” text message scams.

The messages included fake texts apparently from the Government offering the public financial payments and loans, as well as false missives about the coronavirus vaccine.

Investigators have taken down 773 social media accounts linked to frauds and have seen 30 convictions since March last year.

CoLP’s insurance fraud department also saw key workers being targeted by conmen who advertised discounts for NHS workers on fake car insurance policies.

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