Evri warns of the enormous increase in smishing fraud. This is what you should pay attention to

  • Evri is warning customers due to the increase in the number of advanced scam messages
  • It reported an almost 200% increase in the number of reported scams in the year to April 2024

Evri has urgently warned customers about the massive increase in the number of scam text messages pretending to be from parcel companies.

The delivery service referred to the increasing sophistication of fraudsters and the continued rise in the number of reported scams by customers.

Parcel and package delivery scams have become the most common form of “smishing” text messages.

Smishing is used by criminals to target consumers with texts pretending to be trusted organizations and often containing a link to a fraudulent website.

Evri has warned consumers about the rise of sophisticated smishing scams

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

As millions of people in the UK become comfortable ordering online, some may unknowingly fall for it, especially if they’re expecting a delivery.

Evri said the number of reported scams increased by 174 percent between April 2023 and April 2024, closing more than 5,000 scam sites, a 268 percent increase year-on-year.

There are some telltale signs of a scam message, including poorly written sentences full of grammatical errors.

There is also often a lack of personal greeting, with scammers often using “Dear Customer” or “Dear (your email address)” instead of your name.

The email address will usually differ from the usual email address, with a small spelling error or a different format.

Evri typically emails from @evri.com and text messages do not show a mobile phone number, never ask for payment, and contain no links other than evri.link.

Example of a fraudulent Evri text message

Example of a fraudulent Evri text message

However, Evri said fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and are using techniques to bypass defense measures.

Now customers should expect an increase in messages coming through 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, they are harder to flag than text messages on malicious links.

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

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

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

‘Many of these messages try to charge a ‘redelivery fee’ which is nonsense – we will attempt to deliver the order three times before returning an item and there will be no charge.

“Gmail and Hotmail are doing pretty well when it comes to redirecting phishing emails to quarantine folders, while smaller mail providers seem less effective because their maturity is not at the same level.”

If you think you have fallen victim to this type of scam, contact your bank or card provider immediately and report the scam to Action Fraud.

Have you become a victim of delivery fraud? Contact us: editor@thisismoney.co.uk