Britain’s most common scam this year revealed – and how to protect yourself
FAKE parcel delivery texts was the most common scam this year, a survey shows.
Four in ten people said they had been targeted by fraudsters sending the hoax notifications — urging them to click on dodgy links to reschedule a delivery or pay a bogus fee.
Other common scams included false social media marketplace listings and AI voice cloning, the poll found.
Nearly three in ten were targeted by fraudsters posing as friends or family and a similar proportion experienced ticket scams.
Advancements in AI were also found to be contributing to new forms of scams.
Deepfake software, automated phishing systems and chat-bots allowed tricksters to create highly convincing scams.
People aged 18 to 24 were targeted the most, with six in ten experiencing or knowing someone who suffered financially.
In contrast, just one in seven over-65s lost money to scammers themselves or were aware of someone who had.
Stuart Skinner, from NatWest, which carried out the survey, said: “Fake parcel delivery texts are the fastest-growing scam this year.
“Think about it: would a real delivery company ask you to follow a link and make a payment?
“Be wary of urgent messages or those asking for payments or to download an app — this will often contain spyware.”