WARNINGS have been distributed around Scotland over a Royal Mail delivery scam.
It centres around fraudsters sending emails and texts out of the blue claiming to be from the post company.
It is also distributed through social media including Facebook, Twitter and What's App.
Links take users to a genuine looking site asking for payment but it is a scam.
The website asks for your name, address, date of birth, mobile number and bank details giving scammers everything they need to "drain your bank account".
One of the messages directs people to a Royal Mail rescheduling site - but only after very close examination of one of the sites shows that it differs in a crucial way. The 'l' has actually been changed to a capital 'i'. Also the official website is a .com while the scam site is a .co.uk.
One of the Royal Mail warnings
The Royal Mail has issued warnings about the messages which they says "are in fact fraud or phishing scams" and advise people not to click any links or enter any details.
Gregory Cooper of Glasgow-based digital design company FIZZ designs & SEO put together his own warning video after he nearly got caught out.
"The reason I made the video was quite simple, to stop people getting scammed," he said.
"I nearly fell for it, and I am pretty techy.
"It doesn't matter if you are on computer or on mobile, this scam applies to both.
"What gave it away is you are able to identify there are after your personal name, your date of birth, why would they want a date of birth. They are looking for payment details. I have never paid in my life for a Royal Mail delivery, that is supposed to come to you.
"It didn't smell right."
The Royal Mail has produced a guide on how to avoid the scam.
How to spot a fake email
Check at the top. Fraudsters often use subjects or greetings that are impersonal and general, like “Attention Royal Mail Customer”. They may use a forged email address in the “from” field like "delivery@royalmail.com”. They may even use the Royal Mail logo. None of this guarantees the email has come from us.
The sender, subject and content may change slightly but often they:
*state there’s a parcel waiting to be collected
*ask for payment before an item can be released for delivery
*prompts you to open a link or document
*asks you to send a text message or call a phone premium rate phone number
Protect your information.
*Never send sensitive, personal information, security details or credit card numbers by email
*Never click on a link in an email if you are unsure about it, especially if it asks for personal financial information, this might attempt to install malware on to your computer
*Make sure you have a spam filter on your email account
Reporting potential scams
If you receive a suspicious email or discover a Royal Mail branded website which you think is fraudulent, they should be contacted. If you have been the victim of a payment scam, you can get a crime reference number by reporting it to your local Police station.
You can also report the scam to Action Fraud Opens , the national fraud reporting centre. Please note Police Scotland (via the 101 telephone service) must be contacted for scams in or from Scotland.
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