Royal Mail: Urgent warning issued on 'failed delivery' text scam

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A Post Office text sent to Brits claims the recipient’s parcel delivery failed and has been returned to a depot. The message contains a link to a fake website created to look exactly like an official Post Office platform.

This site asks the user to enter their postcode and personal details, supposedly to identify their closest depot and reorganise the delivery.

But these details are sent directly to scammers who are able to use them to commit identity fraud.

Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) says one victim who fell foul to the bogus website lost £80,000 because fraudsters were able to access their bank account.

Katherine Hart, lead officer for CTSI, said: “This Post Office scam is far more insidious than a similar scam which involved Royal Mail. While the Royal Mail scam explicitly asks for a payment to reorganise a delivery, at no point does this happen in this Post Office version making the communication less suspect and potentially more likely to be successful.

“Scammers could use the information to gain access to bank accounts and other important personal accounts.

“With the pandemic leading to a significant rise in online shopping and deliveries, it is vital that the message about the potential dangers of these scams are shared as far and as wide as possible, especially during this Scams Awareness Fortnight.”

The latest fraud follows a series of related delivery scams which use Royal Mail, DPD, Hermes and other delivery company branding, Manchester Evening News reports.

In April, DPD shared how to spot fraudulent emails as well as what you can do if you think you have been victim of an online scam.

And earlier this month, Hermes customers were targeted by scams asking them to part with money. An expert urged all shoppers to be on “high alert”.

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