Royal Mail scam: Warning over fraudulent text messages about £2.99 fee

Fraudsters target online shoppers stuck at home in lockdown in SMS scam

One of the scam text messages sent last week (Tim Wyatt)

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 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.

"This delivery scam is yet another example of fraudsters attempting to make money out of the unsuspecting public,” said Katherine Hart from the CTSI.

“Due to the lockdowns, many millions of people rely on product deliveries, so scammers have focused their efforts on this theme.

“If you have any suspicions, contact Royal Mail to verify before you click any links or share details.”

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.

“Royal Mail works hard to prevent and detect fraud. We work with UK law enforcement agencies, Trading Standards and other organisations to share information and support robust proactive action against scams.”

Royal Mail also has a page on its website which explains how consumers can tell a fake text or email from a real one and includes a list of known scam emails.

Ms Hart said fraudsters were known to also be targeting other delivery services as well as Royal Mail. The CTSI is encouraging anyone who receives such a message to report it to the police’s Action Fraud service.