Parcel & HMRC texts
Lesson 2 of 14 in our free Scams & Fraud guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
Reading is cool. Playing is cooler.
This lesson is a 5-minute game. Free, no sign-up needed.
The story so far
Mo: A text says my parcel's held and I need to pay £1.45 redelivery. Only £1.45, that's fine?
Chip: They don't want your £1.45. They want your CARD DETAILS. Then the real spending starts.
Nana: Forward scam texts to 7726 — it's free. Then delete.
Questions you'll answer
You get a scam text in the UK. What do you do with it?
Forward it to 7726. Yes! It spells SPAM on old keypads. It's free and helps networks block the sender.
Quick facts
- Red flag: “You are eligible for a tax refund of £326.80.” — HMRC doesn't text you about refunds with links.
- Red flag: “Claim within 24hrs” — Fake deadline.
- Red flag: “at hmrc-refunds-gov.co” — Not a gov.uk address. Lookalike link.
- Red flag: “or your refund will be cancelled.” — Threat of losing money to rush you.
- Text from 'your delivery company': pay £1.99 to rebook via a link → Likely scam. Classic smishing. Check your order on the shop's own app instead.
- Your bank app shows a notification inside the app itself → Likely real. In-app messages are far safer than texts with links.
- 'Your TV Licence payment failed, update details here' → Likely scam. Very common phishing email. Go to the official site directly.
- A tracking update for something you ordered, viewed on the shop's own website → Likely real. You went to it — it didn't come to you with a link.