A 'missed delivery' scam email purporting to be from Royal Mail has been reported to police more than 400 times.
Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for Cyber Crime, has issued an alert about the fake emails.
It says: "The emails claim that the recipient missed a delivery and has a parcel waiting for them. The links in the emails lead to genuine-looking Royal Mail websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information."
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An example of the email says "your parcel is on hold" and asks for a fee to be paid. The website it links to is fake and seeks to swindle the recipient into handing over personal financial information.
Action Fraud - which is led by City of London Police on behalf of the UK - adds: ""If you have any doubts about a message, contact the organisation directly. Don't use the numbers or address in the message - use the details on the official website. Your bank (or any other official source) will never ask you to supply personal information via email."
With Christmas around the corner and a postal worker strike, it's likely scammers may ramp up their efforts to catch people out.
Royal Mail says it will "only send email and SMS notifications to customers in cases where the sender has requested this when using our trackable products that offer this service".
If customers miss a delivery "we would let them know by leaving a grey Fee To Pay card. We would not request payment by email or text," it adds.
"We do occasionally send a text or email to customers to advise we’re holding an item that’s had a customs fee applied," says Royal Mail
"The text or email will always provide you with a link to the Royal Mail Fee to Pay site. We’ll also leave a grey ‘Fee to Pay’ card which explains how to pay the fee – this may arrive a day or two after the email or text.
"If you’re concerned that a text or email may be a scam, you can visit royalmail.com/track-your-item to check if the barcode/tracking number provided is correct."
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