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Police have issued an urgent warning to people in Gedling borough as reports of fraudsters sending text messages posing as Royal Mail and DPD remain on the rise.
The warning comes after one woman in Nottinghamshire lost close to £10,000 from her bank account after falling for the scam.
Messages typically asks the victim to pay for an unpaid fee for a parcel delivery and asks them to follow a link to a website.
The fake text message urges people to enter personal details into a fake website and put’s people’s finances at risk.
Other reports across the United Kingdom feature slightly different worded text messages. Some include package delivery information, whilst others ask for £2.99. The text then asks the victim to click on a link, which directs them through to a website asking for card details.
Once the victim inputs their information into the fake account, their accounts could potentially be hacked.
One Nottinghamshire woman lost £9,400 after falling for the scam.
The victim received a text and clicked the link to enter her bank details. She then received a phone call from an unknown suspect claiming to be from the fraud department at her bank. The caller informed the victim that there had been fraudulent activity on her account. The scammer then confirmed that this could rectified and managed to convince the woman to log into her account and transfer funds to another account.
Detective Sergeant Anna Haynes from Nottinghamshire Police’s Fraud Triage & Cyber Team said: “With the increased use of online shopping during the national lockdown people are using delivery services more and more. If you are expecting a delivery this scam text message would not necessarily raise alarm bells.
“Always use the carriers tracking service to check on the delivery status for your goods or contact the supplier to query whether your delivery has been missed or whether this could be a scam.
“This recent case has been reported to Action Fraud and we hope the victim will be able to work with her bank to obtain a refund.
“Please be vigilant if you receive any email or text message asking you to take action, always take five minutes to think whether this is genuine before you click on any link.
“If you are suspicious do not give out any personal information and ignore the message.
“If you are worried then please contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101 and ask to speak to colleagues in the control room.
“No bank or company will ever call you out of the blue asking for personal information, including bank account details.
“We are urging people to share this amongst friends and family. Not everyone has access to the internet, so people do tell neighbours and relatives about these types of scams.
“If you receive a phone call like this please report it directly to Action Fraud.”
You can report fraud online via the Action Fraud website https://crowd.in/PR8zd4 or on 0300 123 2040.
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