North Yorkshire residents urged to not fall for courier text scam

North Yorkshire Police are urging people to not fall for a courier scam in the form of a fake text from Royal Mail.

People in the Borough of Scarborough are being urged to not fall for a courier scam.

It involves getting a fake text from Royal Mail saying there is a package to be collected and to pay a fee to release it along with a website to do that.

Scarborough PCSO, Nathan Stuart, said:

“On the text message you’ll get a link that will take you to a fake website and the problem with this one is once you’ve entered your card details, it’ll say that your package is going to be released. The following day you’ll get a phone call from the fraudster claiming that they’re working for your bank’s fraud team.

“They will ask you for your bank details and tell you that you’ve been scammed on the previous day by a fake website. The victim will then be told that you have to protect your assets and you have to move your money into a safe account. When the victims transfers this, it’s actually into a fraudster’s bank account, and by doing it they won’t be getting their money back.

“If you receive a text message that looks as though it could be from Royal Mail or from a courier site, don’t follow any links. If you’ve received confirmation from the company that you’re buying from, they’ll have sent you a confirmation email and they’ll send you dispatch notices. Don’t click links that you don’t know where they’re coming from in text messages or emails.

“Coming out of lockdown, there’s been a lot more people buying things on websites because there’s a chance now for going out more, people will want to buy more clothes and fashion accessories and the internet is still a good place to shop. The fraudsters are managing to use these messages as convincing ones because people are expecting packages here, there and everywhere.”

North Yorkshire Police has issued this advice too:

• If you receive a suspicious text or email do not click on the link. Instead, contact the delivery company directly.

• Check the URL of the website you’ve been taken to if you’ve already clicked the link.

• If you have already gone through the process on the fake website and fraudsters try to make contact with you, terminate the call immediately and contact your bank or the police using a different phone if possible.

-Remember – the bank or police will never ask you to move or pay money.

Anyone who thinks they might be a victim of this type of crime is asked to call North Yorkshire Police. Dial 101, press 1 and speak to the Force Control Room.

You can also report anything to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit https://reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/login

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