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Royal Mail has issued a warning along with guidance to its customers after a new scam was reported.
Just a few-weeks-ago the company was hit by a scam involving text messages that were targeting people’s bank accounts and now a second one has arisen in just two weeks.
Customers have been warned that the new scam is targeting customers by sending emailing pretending to be from the national mail service.
The hoaxers via the emails, and texts alike, try to get customers’ personal and bank information by telling them that they’ll otherwise fail to have a parcel delivered.
The scam has been labelled as a “malicious email” by ActionFraud but Royal Mail have guidance on what to look out for.
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It said the following:
- Royal Mail will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
- Royal Mail will never ask customers to enter information on a page that isn’t part of the Royal Mail website.
- Royal Mail will never include attachments unless the email was solicited by customer e.g. customer has contacted Royal Mail with an enquiry or has signed up for updates from Royal Mail.
- Royal Mail have also stressed that they do not receive a person’s email address as part of any home shopping experience.
Royal Mail added: “Royal Mail will only send email and SMS notifications to customers where the sender has requested this when using our trackable products that offer this service.
“The only time we would ask customers to make a payment in an email or SMS is if a customs fee is due.
“In this case, we will also leave a grey card telling them there’s a fee to pay, either for the international customs fee or a surcharge for an underpaid item, before we can release the item.
“This may arrive later than the email or SMS.”
“Royal Mail Group works hard to prevent and detect fraud,” a spokesperson for the company added.
The first text message scam saw messages saying: “Royal Mail: your package has a £2.99 shipping fee, to pay this now visit.”
It then includes a seemingly legitimate Royal Mail website, but it is all a ruse, with phishers and scammers ready to pounce and siphon your details.
The text’s then add that “actions will be taken if you do not pay this fee”.
ActionFraud has already revealed it has received 1,700 reports over the second email scam which claims the parcel has not been delivered.
The email appears genuine at the start but it warns customers that if they don’t opt for delivery then the package will be returned to the sender – which is all fake of course.
Customers are then taken to a site to fill out a form where the scammers can get your personal details from you.
ActionFraud tweeted: “Watch out for these fake Royal Mail emails. They’ve been reported to us over 1,700 times…Help us remove malicious emails and websites like these by forwarding suspicious emails to: report@phishing.gov.uk.”
