Watch out for the ‘spray and pay’ parcel delivery scam this Christmas

If you’re waiting for Christmas or Black Friday parcels, you probably won’t be surprised to receive a text about a delivery.

Scammers know this too. At this time of year, when deliveries are constant, people are less likely to question messages that appear to be from courier companies.

One common fraud circulating now is the ‘spray and pay’ scam.

How the scam works?

You may receive a text claiming to be from a delivery service, often one that looks like Royal Mail or another well-known courier, saying your parcel couldn’t be delivered.

The message then asks you to click a link and pay a small redelivery fee of £1–£2.

The link usually leads to a website that looks almost identical to a genuine courier site. But the parcel doesn’t exist, and entering your payment details hands your bank information straight to criminals.

These scammers send out thousands of such messages, hoping to catch people off guard.

The government, mobile phone networks and delivery companies are urging the public to stay alert, especially as scammers take advantage of the confusion around the busy delivery season.

For example, Evri reported 10,000 cases of delivery fraud between November 2024 and January 2025.

How to stay safe

• Pause before responding. Scammers often create a false sense of urgency. Take a moment to check whether the message makes sense.
• Know which courier is delivering your parcel. Only trust messages from the company you’re expecting.
• Check for missing details. Be wary of texts with no personal information, vague wording, or those sent from random numbers.
• If you’ve shared your bank details, act fast. Contact your bank as soon as you realise. If you receive a payment alert you don’t recognise, tell your bank immediately.
• Report scam messages. If your messaging app allows, report the text as spam. You can also forward suspicious texts to 7726, which helps phone networks block similar messages from reaching others.

Stay informed

Knowledge is your best defence. Read our guide about outsmarting online scammers and stay updated on the latest scams.

Trust your instincts and always take a moment to think before acting.