What you need to know about the ‘highly convincing’ Royal Mail scam targeting shoppers

Royal Mail customers have taken to social media to share examples of scammers using highly “sophisticated tactics” to defraud the public.

These tactics involve posing as the Royal Mail, with a “highly convincing” text currently making the rounds - the text claims to have been sent from the Royal Mail and says that the recipient must pay a shipping fee in order to receive their delivery.

‘Highly convincing’

The text message in question says: “Royal Mail: Your package has been held and will not be delivered due to a £1.99 unpaid shipping fee.”

Another similar version of this text also reads: “Royal Mail: Please pay your dispatch fee immediately at [link] or your letter will be returned to sender.”

Both versions provide a link for the recipient to click in order to pay their fee, which is a scam designed to lure victims into sharing their bank details.

Royal Mail states: “Please don’t click on any links and be vigilant if you receive a communication which you aren’t sure about.”

Tony Pepper, CEO of cyber security firm Egress, said: "As the world continues to rely on digital communication channels wherever possible, we've seen an inevitable surge in phishing activity over the last year, with cyber criminals sending out highly convincing emails posing as trusted organisations.

"Unfortunately, these recent emails claiming to be from the Royal Mail are part of the latest scheme aimed at tricking people into parting with their money – and in many cases are using incredibly sophisticated tactics to do so."

‘Never follow any links in SMS messages’