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
The new James Bond game is full of Easter eggs – including a nod to Manchester United
Danny Jones
Even if you’re not a big gamer, you may have seen that a rather popular new James Bond game recently dropped: 007 First Light – and if you’ve played it yourself, you will have no doubt come across many Easter eggs and references throughout, including one to Manchester United.
As we happen to be currently playing it for ourselves, we’ll admit that hearing any mention of our hometown or even just quintessentially UK nods that any Brit would enjoy was likely to result in putting a grin on our faces.
That being said, apart from whenever the next FIFA—sorry, EA Sports FC drops, we weren’t expecting to hear Man United brought up in one of the biggest video games of the year.
In fact, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that nobody has this on their 2026 bingo card.
Credit: @CaptPierce93 via r/Manchester (screenshots shared to Reddit)
It may just be a slightly tongue-in-cheek throwaway line in a cutscene, but it’s still been enjoyed by many around the world.
As player ‘CaptPierce93’ writes in his caption of his Reddit post sharing the snippet: “The game has a good splash of product placements that don’t get overwhelming; an earlier portion of the game even has radio chatter of a Manchester City and Liverpool match as well.”
He’s right as well: we’ve come across lots of different little interesting nuggets and cameos during our limited playtime, and it’s safe to say we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can spot.
While any Mancunian or true, dyed-in-the-wool United fan will no doubt squirm a little at the use of ‘Man U‘ (we’re thinking like when people ‘Manny’), it’s still pretty cool nonetheless.
You can see the specific scene in full down below.
Such a surreal few seconds.
There’s something very satisfying about hearing ‘Greenway’ – played by recognisable British actor Lennie James (Snatch, The Walking Dead, Blade Runner 2049) – utter the words “Stretford End”.
And before you ask, no, he isn’t a Red: the South Londoner is a Spurs fan and is also said to have a soft spot for Valencia, as it happens.
We’re pretty sure there aren’t any other Manc references to keep your eye out for, but we’ll let you know if we stumble upon more as we continue playing the game.
There’s something about videogame Easter eggs, in-jokes and refs like these that we never tire of; you just never know what little tidbits are going to inspire someone…
Featured Images — IO Interactive/Screenshots via Reddit
UK News
First-ever JD Wetherspoon pub to open at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
In news that we feel many Mancs and travellers all-round have been waiting on for a long time, the well-known British chain, JD Wetherspoon, will be opening its first-ever pub at Manchester Airport.
That’s right: soon that first airport pint of the holiday could actually be a relatively cheap one.
While Wetherspoons are no strangers to popping up in terminals across the UK and Ireland, they’ve never done so here in Manchester despite having three, yes THREE, in Gatwick alone.
Not for much longer, though, as soon T2 will be lending more than 3,000 square feet of its prime leisure and retail real estate to a new Greater Manchester ‘Spoons’.
Posting on social media, the airport wrote: “Wetherspoon comes to Manchester Airport this September! The pub will be located in the Terminal 2 Departures lounge and will have more than 300 seats.
“This will become the final major food and drink venue to open its doors as part of our decade-long £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2. It will be named ‘The Belle Vue’, in a nod to Manchester’s historic showground [now a sports complex and leisure hub].
“It was a focal point for social life in the city from the Victorian period up until 2020, when the final event was held at Belle Vue stadium. The design of the pub is inspired by the history of Belle Vue and the sporting culture of the North West of England. We look forward to welcoming you all in September!”
While a lot of money has been pumped into T2’s refurb as a whole over the past few years, it remains unclear just how much this particular new addition will cost; we do know that great sums were set aside for the launch of the Great Northern Market last year.
The inaugural Manchester Airport Spoons is just the latest in a series of major renovations.
As mentioned, the company already operate several up and down the country – 10 airport pubs, to be specific – but this will be the first in the North West.
Speaking on the news, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening at Manchester Airport. We believe our new pub will prove popular with travellers of all ages and be an asset to the new terminal.”
With Manchester Airport adding a dozen new routes to its roster this summer, you can expect to see even more people flying in and out than ever – no doubt having already polished off a cut-price pint or two beforehand.
Emily Sergeant -
29th June 2021 
