Common UK scams

If a message you've received looks like one of these, treat it as dodgy until proven otherwise.

• Royal Mail / parcel fee scam

  Texts that claim you owe a small fee on a Royal Mail parcel are one of the most common scams in the UK. Royal Mail doesn't ask for fees by SMS link.

• Evri / DPD redelivery scam

  Fake delivery texts claim a parcel needs rescheduling and link to a card-capture page. The real couriers don't ask for redelivery fees by text.

• "Hi Mum / Dad" WhatsApp scam

  Scammers pose as a child whose phone is broken and ask a parent to pay an urgent bill. Action Fraud has logged thousands of UK reports.

• HMRC tax refund scam

  HMRC never tells you about a refund by text or email with a link. These messages route to a fake gov.uk-styled login page.

• Bank impersonation scam

  Real banks never ask you to move money to a "safe account" or share full passwords or one-time codes by phone or text.

• Energy rebate / Winter Fuel scam

  Texts and emails offering an energy rebate or Winter Fuel Payment "to claim" almost always link to a card-capture page. The real scheme pays automatically.

• Crypto / investment scam

  High guaranteed returns, "exclusive" trading platforms and "account managers" who push you to deposit more are classic UK investment-scam patterns.

• Romance scam

  Someone you've never met in person asks for money. Often after weeks of attentive messages and usually for a one-off emergency or travel.

• Fake job-offer scam

  WhatsApp or SMS "easy work from home" offers paying daily for liking videos or rating products are almost always task-platform scams.

• TV Licensing scam

  Emails or texts saying your TV Licence "couldn't be renewed" or "needs verifying" are a long-running phishing campaign.