We are currently living in the absolute golden age of home delivery. Whether it is a new pair of walking boots, a specialized garden tool, or just the weekly shopping, half of Great Britain is permanently waiting for a courier from Royal Mail, Evri, DPD, or Amazon to trundle up the garden path.
Because we receive so many packages, our digital defenses have naturally dropped. And that is precisely where the modern cyber-criminal loves to strike.
It usually begins with a brief, official-looking text message dropping into your mobile phone feed early on a Tuesday morning. It reads something like this:
“RoyalMail Alert: Your package has been held at our local depot due to an unpaid shipping fee of £1.45. To schedule a redelivery to your home address, please settle the outstanding balance immediately via:www.royalmail-redelivery-fees-online.com“
It looks completely benign. The amount they are asking for is trivial—less than the price of a first-class stamp. You think to yourself, “Ah, that must be the book I ordered last week, I’d better pay that tiny fee or they’ll send it back.”
But beware. This is the “Unpaid Delivery Fee” scam, and it is a beautifully designed funnel that starts with a pocket-change request and ends with a complete emptying of your life savings. Here is how the trap works and how to completely avoid it.
The Two-Stage Financial Ambush
The crooks who design this fraud are incredibly clever. They know you wouldn’t send £5,000 to a stranger, so they start by asking for £1.45.
If you click that link, you are taken to a highly convincing replica of the Royal Mail or Evri website. You happily type in your name, address, and your credit or debit card details to pay the tiny fee. You get a message saying “Success,” close the screen, and think nothing more of it.
But the real sting happens two days later.
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| 📱 THE STING: How the Scam Evolves |
| 1. You pay the tiny £1.45 fee on the fake website. |
| 2. The crooks steal your phone number and bank details. |
| 3. A fake "Bank Fraud Team" calls you to "protect" you. |
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A phone call will come through from an unknown landline. A polite, professional-sounding person will say: “Good afternoon, this is the Fraud Security Team from your bank. We’ve noticed a suspicious attempt to siphon £2,500 out of your account by a criminal gang based in Manchester. Did you recently enter your card details on a fake Royal Mail website?”
Your heart drops. You say, “Yes, I did!” The caller sighs with relief and says, “Aha, that’s how they got your data. Don’t worry, we are going to help you secure your money. You need to immediately move your savings into a ‘Safe Account’ that we have set up for you…”
The moment you make that transfer, your money is gone forever. The caller wasn’t your bank; it was the exact same criminal who set up the fake delivery website in the first place.
🛑 How to Slam the Door on Delivery Thieves
To make sure you never fall victim to this nasty double-sided con, remember these three strict rules of the road:
1. Real Couriers Do Not Text for Cash
If Royal Mail genuinely has a parcel for you that requires a customs surcharge or a grey “fee to pay” sticker, they will never send you a text message with a web link. They will drop a physical, grey cardboard card through your letterbox. If there is no card on your mat, there is no fee to pay.
2. The Absolute Redelivery Rule
If you are ever in doubt about a parcel delivery, never click the link inside a text message. Instead, open your web browser, manually type in the official address (e.g., [www.royalmail.com](https://www.royalmail.com)), and enter your tracking number there. If the text message came from a scammer, the official website will tell you the tracking number doesn’t exist.
3. Banks Never Use “Safe Accounts”
Print this rule out and stick it to your fridge: A real bank will never, under any circumstances, call you out of the blue and ask you to move your money into another account for “safety.” The moment anyone uses the phrase “Safe Account,” “Secure Ledger,” or “Holding Account,” hang up the phone immediately. It is an absolute, 100% guarantee of a scam.
The Bottom Line
A text message is just ink on a screen; it has no authority. Never let the fear of a missed parcel trick you into handing over your financial sovereignty. If a text asks for money to release a delivery, delete it, ignore it, and go put the kettle on. Let the imaginary parcel go back to where it came from, and keep your savings safely where they belong.