📝 Show notes
CyberAware Daily — 2026-09-29
- Today's deep dive: the fake delivery text scam, still the most common way UK households lose money.
- How it works: a small fake redelivery fee, a lookalike courier or Post Office page, and your card details gone.
- Why the small amounts are deliberate — they make people tap without thinking.
- Three ways to check: were you expecting a parcel, check the full sender number, never pay through a link.
- If you tapped: call your bank straight away and change your email password if you typed it in.
- Report scam texts free by forwarding them to 7726 (spells SPAM on a keypad).
- Practical tip: go to the courier's app or type their web address yourself — never a link.
- Talk to older relatives who shop online a lot — they get targeted most.
More at https://cyberawareuk.co.uk
📄 Full transcript
It's Tuesday, so we're doing a deep dive on one scam type.
Today it's the fake delivery text, because it's still the single most common way money leaves UK households.
And I get these myself.
I got one last week saying my parcel was held and I owed a small re-delivery fee.
That's the whole trick.
Small amount feels harmless, so people tap the link without thinking.
What's actually happening after the tap?
Usually a page that looks exactly like a well-known courier or the post office.
It asks for your card details and a delivery fee of a pound or two.
And they take more than the fee.
They take however much they can, then they keep the card details and try more purchases later.
Some of them don't even want money.
They just want you to enter your details, so they can reuse them.
Exactly.
Some add an account login page first, so they collect your email password too, and that gets them into other things.
How do I spot one properly?
Three things.
Were you expecting a parcel?
Check the sender's full number or email, not the name shown.
And never pay a delivery fee through a link in a text.
So if I am genuinely waiting on something, what do I do?
Open the courier's app or type their address yourself.
If the parcel's really held, it'll show there.
What about people who've already tapped one?
Call your bank straight away and say the card was used on a scam site.
They can stop the card.
Change your email password too if you typed it in.
Is there a report line?
Yes, forward the text to 7726, that spells spam on a keypad.
It reports it to your network, and it helps block the number for everyone.
One more thing worth saying.
These come in waves.
So if you're not expecting anything at all this week, treat every delivery text as suspect.
And tell someone in the family who's less sure about this.
Older relatives get hit most because they order a lot online.
What's our takeaway today?
Never pay a delivery fee through a link in a text.
If you're unsure, go to the courier directly.
Two minutes of typing beats a drained account.