Post Office scam warning shared as ‘even more plausible’ fake texts circulate

Scammers have been trying their luck at getting people’s personal and bank details by pretending to work for the Post Office. People across the country are being sent fake texts, according to consumer group Which?.

Which? has warned of an “extremely convincing” scam that directs people to the Post Office website.

The consumer group said it had seen texts claiming a parcel delivery had failed.

The text then tells customers to click a link to book or reschedule a delivery.

However, clicking on links may lead people to a site which looks like the Post Office’s real site, but is in fact a clone.

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When recipients of the texts are then asked to fill in their personal details on the clone site, they are at risk of identity fraud.

Scammers are also given the opportunity to steal recipient’s bank details as they may be asked to pay a charge for the parcel redelivery.

Users may be told their redelivery request has been “processed successfully”, which makes the scam even more convincing.

However, the Post Office has always said it never sends texts about parcels or mail.

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It also said it takes immediate action to have clone sites taken down.

Adam French, consumer rights editor at Which?, said: “If people input their details and pay for a new delivery date, the scammers redirect them to the official Post Office website – making this fake even more plausible.”

He went on to explain what Britons should do if they receive an unexpected text, saying: “Consumers should be on high alert for scams and, if in any doubt, should verify the text directly with the company before giving any personal information.

“If you’ve entered any bank details, contact your bank immediately to ensure the scammer cannot take any more money from your account, and ask to be reimbursed.

“Cyber criminals are frequently trying to get people to click on links in texts regarding undelivered shipping fees and undelivered items and directing them to fake websites purporting to be an official Post Office website.

“We are working hard to raise awareness about these fake texts in our name to help stop people being conned.

“As soon as we are aware that a fake Post Office web page is up and running we take immediate action to have the site taken down.

“This week we have launched a social media campaign aimed at those aged 50-plus to warn them of scams that may use the Post Office name and what to do if they have any suspicions.”

The Post Office spokesperson added: “Post Office use digital monitoring systems that alert us to any website set up with our name in the URL.

“Once we are alerted (within hours to 24 hours of a URL being registered) we monitor the URL for any web page that is set up, specifically using our brand.

“We are only able to take action once a website is set up and displays our branding and trademark.”

Consumers are also being urged to report scam texts by forwarding them to the network provider on 7726.

It is also worth alerting the genuine companies that scammers are trying to imitate, Which? said.