AwarenessScams & deception
Scam texts (smishing)
The same trick by text message - fake deliveries, fines, banks.
Understand it
Smishing is phishing over text. A message claims a parcel needs a fee, a payment has failed, or an account is frozen, with a link to a convincing fake site that collects your details.
How to spot it
A link in a text, a note of urgency, and a sender you cannot verify. Banks and HMRC do not operate this way.
Close the gap
- Do not tap links in unexpected texts - go to the app or site yourself.
- Forward scam texts to 7726 to report them, free of charge.
- Never read a one-time code to anyone who calls or texts.
- Check any reference number through the genuine app, not the text.
What to do about it
You don't fix a scam, you spot one. Run anything suspicious through our phishing checker, and let your plan harden the accounts and money they're really after. When money's involved, the fix is a habit, not a setting: confirm every payment or change of bank details by phone, on a number you already have.