Warning about Christmas Scams (original article from Daily Mail)
Britons are being warned about scams involving fake parcel delivery texts if they order gifts online during the festive period. Roughly four in five of all fraud cases that start with a text message are from scammers imitating delivery firms Royal Mail, DPD and Hermes, according to TSB.
How to tell if your text message is a scam
These scams typically start when a shopper receives a fake delivery text, often saying that they need to pay a shipping fee for their parcel to be delivered. They will be asked to input personal information, which then goes straight to the criminals. At a later date, the fraudsters will then call them out of the blue claiming to be from a bank’s fraud department. They will often appear to very convincing, as they will use the information they already have on the individual. The scammer will usually claim that the person’s account is under attack, and they must quickly transfer money to a ‘safe account’ which will be an account held in the fraudster’s name.
Other scams to watch out for this Christmas
Scammers may also cold call pretending to be from a company that you might have dealt with recently. TSB’s research revealed that cold callers purporting to be from Amazon and BT are among the most common. Virgin Media, HMRC and Microsoft are also common targets.
How to avoid losing money to fraud
As well as exercising extreme caution about any text message or email from a delivery company, it is best to assume the worst and to avoid clicking on any links or sharing any personal information in response to a text message. If you are expecting a parcel, only ever interact with the delivery company via their official app, or by finding their website yourself using an internet search engine. If you receive a call out of the blue, then the advice is to hang up and call the organisation back via its official number.
Stay safe!