Evri points warning over big rise in ‘smishing’ rip-off

A huge rise in the number of scam text messages being sent pretending to be from parcel companies has led to one giant in the industry to send out an urgent warning to customers.

Evri has issued the warning about the growing sophistication of fraudsters and the continued rise in reported scams from customers.

Parcel and package delivery scams have become the most common type of ‘smishing’ text messages.

Smishing is used by criminals to target consumers with texts impersonating trusted organisations, and often contain a link to a fraudulent website.

Evri has issued a warning to consumers over the rise of sophisticated smishing scams

It replicates the company’s legitimate site and asks consumers to enter their personal and financial information.

With millions now comfortable with online ordering in Britain, some will unwittingly fall for it – especially if they are expecting a delivery. 

Evri said it had seen a 174 per cent increase in reported scams from April 2023 to April 2024 and had closed down more than 5,000 scam sites, a 268 per cent increase year-on-year.

There are some tell-tale signs of a scam message, including poorly written sentences littered with grammatical errors.

There also tends to be a lack of personal greeting with scammers often using ‘Dear Customer’ or ‘Dear [your email address]’ instead of using your name.

The email address will usually differ from the usual email address, with a slight misspelling or different formatting.

Evri typically email from @evri.com and text messages will not show a mobile phone number, never ask for payment or include any links other than evri.link.

Example of a fraudulent Evri text message

However, Evri said that fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and using techniques to avoid defence measures.

Now customers need to look out for an increase in messages coming via iMessage, Apple’s messaging service, and Rich Communication Services (RCS), a similar technology used on Google Android phones.

These services are much harder to detect because, while good for personal privacy, are harder to flag than text messages for malicious links. 

It means that scammers are opting to use these services and have a higher chance of getting their messages through.

‘These criminals use the ‘spray and pray’ method, taking advantage of the millions of parcels we deliver to households every day,’ said Richa Bhuttar, chief information security officer at Evri told This is Money. 

‘They know sending thousands of messages every day means some of them are more likely to reach some people expecting a parcel. 

‘Lots of these messages try to charge a ‘redelivery fee’ which is nonsense – we will attempt delivery three times before an item is returned and there is no charge.

‘Gmail and Hotmail have pretty much got it nailed in terms of diverting phishing emails to quarantine folders whereas smaller mail providers seem to be less effective because their maturity is not at the same level.’

If you think you’ve been a victim of this type of scam, you should talk to your bank or card provider immediately and report the scam to Action Fraud.

Have you fallen victim to a delivery scam? Get in touch: [email protected]