Royal Mail Text Scam Investigation sees 8 People Arrested

Eight men are arrested following dawn raids targeted at stopping fraud, including a Royal Mail text scam.

The suspects are accused of involvement in sending fake text messages. These are mainly posing as Royal Mail asking recipients to pay a charge to retrieve their parcel.

Arrests were made in Birmingham, Colchester, Coventry and London by a specialist unit of the City of London and Metropolitan Police. The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) is currently cracking down on text scams. So the arrests came as part of a week of action against such messages. During the pandemic there was an increase in opportunist scamming and cyber crimes.

A man from Enfield in London is facing charges for three offences. These include fraud by false representation, possession of articles for use in fraud and possession of criminal property (money laundering). He is due to appear at Inner London Crown Court on 21 June.

Meanwhile, the other men are released pending further investigation.

“Smishing”

These types of messages are “smishing” texts. Their aim is to steal someone’s personal and bank details by telling them to click on a link. It looks like they are going to a trusted website, but in reality it is a fake version. Many of these messages are good at convincing their victims it is genuine. A lot of people are easily caught out. This is because it appears the message is coming from a legitimate institution that they know, so is believable.

Head of the DCPCU, Detective Chief Inspector Gary Robinson, says the unit is working together with Royal Mail, mobile phone networks and financial services to fight this kind of crime. They are undertaking ongoing investigations to continue working to bring to justice those guilty of committing smishing scams.

You should always beware of clicking on any links sent in texts or emails, no matter how real they look.

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