A warning has been issued to millions of Royal Mail customers.
Which? is urging people to avoid falling victim to scam and copycat websites that are offering discount stamps. They have seen a Facebook Page called "Royal Postal Mail" which claims to be running a “clearance sale for three days only” of second class stamps.
It goes on to try and pressure shoppers to "buy before the deadline", the Mirror reports. Which? also found another website impersonating Royal Mail called theroaymailshop.shop advertising large discounts. But there are many more out there.
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Neither of these websites are affiliated with Royal Mail, whose official website is royalmail.com. A Royal Mail spokesperson told Which? magazine: "We are aware of the site and are taking appropriate measures."
It comes after the price of a first-class stamp for standard size letters increased from £1.10 to £1.25, in October of this year. Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We understand the economic challenges that many of our customers are currently facing and have considered the price changes very carefully in light of the significant decline in letter volumes.”
Royal Mail has shared some top scams to look out for on its website. It wrote: "These are some typical examples of scams that look like they’re sent by Royal Mail, but are in fact fraud or phishing scams. Please don’t click on any of the links in these emails and be vigilant if you receive a communication which you aren’t sure about."
Common scams include:
Text messages
You may receive a test that says your delivery needs to be rescheduled and asks you to click on a link. You may also receive a text that says an item is waiting to be collected by you.
Some customers have even had text messages asking them to pay £2.99 for an owed delivery fee. People should not click on any links.
Email scams
Some emails sent out include informing people packages were not delivered on time due to no custom duty being paid or an attempt was made to deliver a package from HMRC Revenue and Customs asking you to click on a link to reschedule the delivery.
Another example is a delayed package delivery which informs people that a payment is required before it can be delivered.
Website scams
Royal Mail states: "Please be aware of websites which imitate the Royal Mail Stamps and Collectables website. These websites are typically offering discounts from 20-60% on stamps.
"Some of the websites take payment and then send out counterfeit stamps. There are other websites which are capturing customer details but not sending any stamps."
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