Police warning as text scams soar
633% SPIKE IN FRAUDULENT MESSAGES IN PAST MONTH
THE number of text scams has soared in the past month with new data revealing a 633 per cent spike in SMS attacks in the UK.
Leicestershire Police have issued multiple warnings to people across the county following reports of fraudulent texts claiming to be from the Census, Royal Mail and Asda among others.
New research shows fraudsters hide behind big-name brands to target unsuspecting victims in an effort to get cash or personal details.
The latest warning was given to South Leicester residents on Monday, following a spate of scam messages.
Police community support officer (Pcso) Sam Doninton said: “I have had a large number of residents mention scams and/or spam texts that they have been receiving as a real problem.”
Researchers at payments provider Dojo have revealed the top 10 brands most used by fraudsters in phishing text scams.
Analysts examined the number of Google searches for well-known text scams and discovered how these have become more prevalent over the past couple of months.
HERMES
According to the Dojo report, Hermes has seen the highest increase in scam texts in the past month.
A total of 880 searches for “Hermes scam text” were recorded in March, which increased by a whopping 633 per cent the following month.
Dojo says: “Scammers were asking potential victims to pay a shipping fee to receive their packages.”
Researchers suggest that an increase in online shopping due to the coronavirus pandemic has made online shoppers an “obvious target”.
The report added: “As there have been a growing number of online shopping for their daily goods and clothes, due to Covid, it seems like an obvious choice for scammers.”
ROYAL MAIL
Royal Mail scam texts have spiked by 610 per cent in the past month, with an incredible 133,000 people searching for “Royal Mail scam text”.
Fraudsters have used the brand to victimise customers who may be expecting packages.
Analysts say: “Many scammers are trying to impersonate the company to retrieve the details of unsuspecting customers.
“The Royal Mail scam tells a similar story to Hermes, with the scammers asking people to pay a shipping fee before their package is delivered.”
DVLA
DVLA is third on the list with fraudsters taking advantage of the brand despite it not being a delivery service.
Searches for “DVLA test scam” shot up from 450 searches in February to 2,150 searches in March.
Dojo added: “This scam seems to see fraudsters impersonating the DVLA to offer the victim a vehicle tax refund, directing unsuspecting people to an online page where they’re tricked into inserting their details.”
Leicestershire Police advise victims to report any text messages that they suspect are fraudulent.
A statement on their website says: “You can quickly and easily report spam texts to your network operator. Simply forward the text to 7726.
“You may get an automated response thanking you for the report and giving you further instructions if needed, like forwarding on the number the spam text message was sent from.”