In recent weeks, many UK residents have reported receiving suspicious, fraudulent messages posing as the British postal service Royal Mail advising that a settlement, or "shipping fee," must be made in order to receive a package.
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The message includes a link to a seemingly legitimate website, which then requests personal information, including banking details, in order to make a payment.
The messages are sent in the classic phishing format, and the malicious actors try to extract valuable information from their victims. Some of the obvious signs of these fake messages are the request for immediate payment with a deadline and an unofficial URL with random dashes and extra words before .com.
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Actress Emmeline Hartley, who also fell victim to this scam, shared her experience on Twitter, including what happened to her after she entered her bank details after clicking on the link in the message.
Unfortunately, the person who contacted Hartley was actually part of the scam. After asking her to transfer all her money to the “new account” he had set up, he then hung up. Hartley is now in contact with the Barclays team to try to recover her money.
Those who fell victim to the scam have posted on Twitter, hoping to warn others. The scam comes at a difficult time for the UK, with the country in lockdown and many relying more than usual on delivery services.
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Those receiving a message from Royal Mail should check the official app or website with the tracking number, or contact them directly, to confirm its authenticity.
If someone has fallen victim to such a payment scam, they should immediately contact their bank if they have provided their details and may report the incident to the local police station.
