A new study by consumer group Which? has found that three in five people have received fake delivery scam texts over the last year.
A significant rise in sophisticated scamming and phishing activity has been seen throughout the pandemic, with fresh warnings issued to the public on a regular basis.
Messaging scams have boomed as the pandemic confined millions of us to our homes and we became increasingly reliant on deliveries, with fraudsters posing as couriers and delivery companies in an attempt to trick people into handing over bank details via text.
A Which? survey of over 2,000 people in May revealed that three in five people (61%) had received a fake delivery text in the past year.
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Of those who received the scam text messages claiming to be from a delivery company, four in five (79%) said they realised it was fake straight away but 3% said they lost money to the scam.
Seven in ten (70%) Brits said they received a Royal Mail scam text in the last three months / Credit: Royal Mail
The scam most often reported to Which? in the past three months has been fake text messages – also known as ‘smishing’ (SMS phishing) – pretending to be from the Royal Mail. 70% of one surveyed group received the Royal Mail scam text.
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The message usually requests a small payment for a parcel to be delivered and a link to a copycat Royal Mail website, with victims then called by scammers to try to trick them into sending large sums of money.
DHL, DPD and Hermes were the other most-commonly impersonated companies in the survey, with roughly one in three (32%) reporting scam texts.
One in eight scam texts (12%) impersonated UPS over text.
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To test the reach of the scams, Which? created four new mobile phone accounts – one with each of the UK’s biggest phone networks – and within two weeks, two of the numbers had received scam text messages, despite never having been used before.
What have we learnt about scams over the past year?
👤 Anyone be a victim 🔄 Scammers change their tactics frequently 💷 Investment scams are on the rise 📲 Reporting scams is vital
Speaking on the research findings, Adam French – Consumer Rights Expert at Which? – said: “Our research shows how fraudsters have bombarded Britain with scam delivery texts on an industrial scale as they try to exploit the unprecedented conditions of the pandemic.
“Couriers and the telecoms industry must take further steps to protect consumers, by making it harder for fraudsters to exploit systemic weaknesses to reach potential victims, and by making people more aware of how to spot such scams.”
He also added that consumers can sign up to Which?’s scam alert service to keep themselves informed about the latest tactics used by fraudsters.
Featured Image – Pixnio
UK News
Oasis address Glastonbury headline rumours – but heavily hint at something much bigger
Danny Jones
Oasis have come out to address the widespread rumour that they will be headlining Glastonbury 2025, playing down the speculation and instead hinting at something much bigger.
The world’s heartbeat has barely even settled since the Gallagher brothers confirmed they will finally be getting back together for a series of reunion shows next summer, but they have continued to get pulses raising with each and every social media update.
For instance, their most recent post is arguably much more momentous than playing the globally renowned music festival.
While the official Oasis account did dismiss talk of them being the Glastonbury headliners for 2025 rumours, they did seem to casually announce a world tour instead. As you do…
As you can see, the words are there in black and white (quite literally): “Oasis Live ’25 World Tour”.
While it feels premature to jump straight to the conclusion given how nonchalantly this supposed announcement was delivered, the post does suggest rather blatantly that plans for a world tour – i.e. separate from the limited number of dates already announced – do exist.
If that wasn’t their intention then they really should have chosen different words as the replies were quick to fill up with reactions like, “WORLD TOUR YESSSSS. KNEBWORTH HERE WE GO”, “World tour???” and many more to that effect.
Once again, while there has been no official standalone announcement post detailing tour dates, it looks like the 14 comeback shows are just the start of the reunion and that the Oasis boys will be heading back out on the road properly after the likes of Heaton Park and Wembley shows.
Questions have also been circling around whether this reunion will include other previous members of the legendary Britpop icons or just the Gallagher brothers.
For now, as much as we want it to be true, there’s nothing definite and we’ll just have to settle for still being absolutely over the moon that one of the greatest rock bands of all time is returning to our lives in the most important music news for a generation.
Meanwhile, fans are currently being tested on their Oasis trivia in order to access the red-hot pre-sale ticket ballot. They’re making us work for it.
As well as announcing massive gigs at Wembley Stadium, Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Croke Park in Dublin, they will also be playing a total of four shows on home turf here in Manchester at the legendary Heaton Park, where they last played as a pair back in 2009.
We know Liam already played their musical mecca himself back in 2022, but this is as close to a proper Knebworth 2.0 as you could probably ever ask for. With that in mind, here’s how the world reacted to the biggest music news in a generation:
Well, despite having both maintained it would never happen for years, being publicly unpleasant about each other almost for sport at times, and supposedly having not spoken full stop for “about a decade”, it turns out the two have finally had a conversation – and quite a watershed one at that.
Noel famously said it would take a lot more than money for the two of them to even begin discussing a potential reunion, but did taunt Liam in June last year by saying, “I f***ing dare you to call me […] because then we have to be in a room together and we both know how that ends.”
In fact, rather than a merely transactional phone call to confirm that both parties are now willing to put on these biblical shows, it appears as though the Gallagher brothers have indeed met in person once again, with stills from the photoshoot promoting the reunion being shared online.
How surreal does this look all these years later?
This one yes but the photoshoot was real I don't know why they keep using this one pic.twitter.com/Pbufw6D4pi
Yes, understandably based on the chosen lead photo – which is almost certainly edited for whatever reason (probably because Liam preferred his hair better in one of them or something…) – fans were reluctant to believe they had even been in the same room as each other yet.
However, as per multiple reports, the secret photoshoot between the two long-feuding brothers is rumoured to have taken place sometime last month and those present were forced to sign NDAs to keep news of the reunion under wraps.
It’s still unknown as to exactly when and where these photos were taken but they look pretty bloody real, if you ask us, and are credited to notable British photographer Simon Emmett.
Speaking to the tabloids, a source said: “It was a pinch me moment to have Noel and Liam together. The shoot was top secret and barely anyone knew about it. For their fans to see them together again will be an amazing sight, the atmosphere in the room was fizzing, it was electric.”
Again, it’s unclear how much time the two have actually spent back in each other’s company at this point, but boy would we have loved to have been a fly on the wall during that moment.
If you don’t get the hype, that’s fine. There are bands that write better, play better, perform better. That are more inventive, more creative, more reflective. But for working class kids in the mid-90s, #Oasis were ours. And possession is nine tenths of the lore. #oasisreunionhttps://t.co/khAfGwURaX
Even more interestingly, now 15 years on from the infamous Paris storm-out which brought an abrupt end to the legendary Britpop band, Noel has actually been saying nice things about his younger brother for a change. I know, we’re as stunned as you are.
Chatting with industry journalist and fellow musician John Robb in a recent interview with Louder Than War, a chat held ahead of the deluxe Monnow Valley Recordings of Definitely Maybe being released for the debut album’s 30th anniversary, the 57-year-old was actually complimentary about Liam.
Released in full on YouTube last week, the songwriting genius and legendary guitar player conceded: “When I would sing the song, it would sound good, when he would sing it, it would sound great.”
He did go on to jokingly compare Liam’s voice to “10 shots of tequila on a Friday night” whilst he was more like “half a Guinness on a Tuesday”, but the significance of actually speaking positively about his counterpart on several occasions throughout the exclusive cannot be overstated.
And then came that first teaser played live not only at Reading and Leeds Festival but right after Blossoms’ headline slot at Live From Wythenshawe Park, where Noel played the exact same stage this time last year…
Liam had shared a number of cryptic tweets in the days leading up to that short teaser video including one post that simply read, “never did like that word FORMER”, and another in reply to a fan online saying, “See you in the front you big f***y.”
Besides both being rather importantly out of album and tour cycles following festival season, many fans have also speculated that several other wider factors have played into the stars finally aligning.
Everything from their mum Peggy (now 80) having once again urged the two to mend fences, to Noel’s split from his wife Sara MacDonald who also famously didn’t get on with Liam, and even the sheer timing of the dates and announcement – 15 years on, 30th anniversary and so on – were all put forward as evidence.
noel gallagher recently had an interview where he spoke of liam in a very kind and reminiscent manner. anyone who is a fan of oasis, or even just noel, knows this is very unordinary for noel. pic.twitter.com/J4cZ0Ce5eK
— billie with the lights up! (@youdfallapart) August 25, 2024