Clicking on a link in a fake delivery text this Christmas could be the starting point for having all your savings stolen, a bank is warning.
TSB said that according to its internal data recorded in October, around four in five (81%) fraud cases that started with a text used a delivery company as the initial ‘hook’. These are cases that then lead to ‘safe account’ scams.
Royal Mail was by far the most impersonated delivery company according to TSB’s data, accounting for 62% of fraud that starts by delivery scam text message, followed by DPD and Hermes.
Scam texts harvest sensitive information which fraudsters then use to target people with convincing cold calls, asking them to move their money to a ‘safe account’.
TSB said safe account fraud results in an average loss of £4,500 per case, across the industry.
Criminals contact people claiming to be from a bank’s fraud department and can appear convincing due to the information they already have. They claim the customer’s account is under attack, and they must quickly transfer money to a safe account, which is in reality held in the fraudster’s name.
In one case, a customer was refunded more than £7,000 after falling victim to a fraud that started when she received a scam text impersonating Royal Mail. As she was expecting a parcel from Australia, she thought it was genuine and followed a link to complete a…
