Royal Mail issues scam text warning

Scammers are trying to take advantage in the boom in online shopping with a Royal Mail text fraud, experts have warned.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has cautioned shoppers to beware messages which claim to come from Royal Mail but are actually sent by fraudsters.

The texts arrive out of the blue and say a Royal Mail parcel is waiting for delivery, before encouraging the recipient to click on a URL and pay a small fee, often £1.99 or £2.99.

However, the CTSI said the messages are not from the Royal Mail and are instead an attempt to steal personal information and payment details.

Reports of these kind of delivery scams have surged over the past year, the CTSI said, in response to the rise in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said the service would only ever ask for payment by email or text message was if a parcel had been sent to them from overseas and a customs payment was 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".

People are advised to report scams to Action Fraud, or for email scams contact the National Cyber Security Centre by emailing report@phishing.gov.uk.