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Fraudsters send out fake messages in a bid to convince unwary shoppers to hand over personal information and banking details. Groups including Royal Mail, Amazon, Evri (formerly Hermes) and DHL have issued advice on how to identify and avoid falling prey to delivery scam texts.
Fraudsters send out fake messages in a bid to convince unwary shoppers to hand over personal information and banking details.
The bogus texts will often have links to fake websites, where people are encouraged to hand over personal information, such as bank account details to pay a charge for an item or to confirm their address.
Action Fraud encourages consumers to reach out to an organisation themself if they are unsure a text message is legitimate.
The group said: “Don’t use the numbers or address in the message – use the details from their official website.
“Remember, your bank (or any other official source) will never ask you to supply personal information via email.”
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Royal Mail said it would only send email and text messages if the sender of an item has requested this when purchasing a trackable delivery.
A spokesperson said: “In cases where customers need to pay a surcharge for an underpaid item, we would let them know by leaving a grey Fee To Pay card.
“We would not request payment by email or text. The only time we would ask customers to make a payment by email or by SMS is in instances where a customs fee is due.
“In such cases, we would also leave a grey card telling customers that there’s a Fee to Pay before we can release the item.
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Amazon explained what to do if a customer receives a text purportedly from the group, asking them to verify login details or rearrange a delivery.
The company said people should log into their account in the usual way rather than clicking on any links in the text.
Their account will show them if there are any changes they need to make and they can be sure the request is legitimate.
A spokesperson said: “Scam texts will often say there is a problem with your account, ask you for sensitive information like passwords, or state that you are owed a refund.
“Amazon will never ask for your password or personal information by text message. Amazon will never ask for your personal information, or ask you to make a payment outside of our website (e.g. via bank transfer, e-mailing credit card details, etc.) and will never ask for remote access to your device e.g. by asking you to install an app.”
