Royal Mail customers are warning others to stay vigilant this Chistmas after receiving a scam text message that appears to be from the postal service.
Social media users have flocked to Twitter and Facebook to issue alarming warnings over the widespread scam.
The scam – which sees victims sent a genuine-looking text from a ‘ Royal Mail ‘ phone number – suggests they’re entitled to a free smartphone.
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Royal Mail customers say they receive a text message which tells them there is an item waiting to be confirmed by them, the Liverpool Echo reports.
This is accompanied with a hyperlink included in the body of the text, reports Metro.
When users click the link, they are redirected to a website that has the heading of Currys/PC World, which goes on to ask them to answer a few personal details and brings up an alert which says: “Approved!
“Your selected iPhone 11 Pro will be delivered within 5 working days.
“Please confirm your delivery address and pay a small fee (£2.00) for insured shipping.”
Some people who have clicked the confirm button at the bottom of the site, then say they are taken to another website called ‘winanticipation’ where they are asked for card details to pay for a fee of £1 for the iPhone.
The text asks people to click on a hyperlink to claim their item.
One person wrote on Twitter: “Hi there @RoyalMail ‘I received the below text from you today- is it a scam? If I follow it through it goes to a @curryspcworld prize!”
Another said: “@RoyalMailHelp, is this some sort of new scam or a new feature you guys have introduced? ‘It’s not the first thing I’ve gotten a text like this from an alleged Royal Mail number.”
Royal Mail responded to people on Twitter by saying it was ‘aware of the SMS and is currently investigating’.
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