Fraudsters are taking advantage of the changes in shopping habits -during the pandemic and the growth in businesses texting customers. Known as “smishing”, -con artists send messages to mobile phone owners that appear to come from the post office, supermarket or a bank -asking for -personal details. The recipient is asked to reply to the fake request before items are delivered.

       Scott Gallacher, a finance expert at Rowley Turton, says scammers are increasingly -brazen. He said: “We like to think it’s only vulnerable people that are scammed but I know successful people who’ve fallen victim.” According to research by consumer watchdog Which?, the prevalence of smishing is making it difficult to distinguish between genuine alerts and scams.

       Figures suggest there is a three to one ratio of parcel smishing to banking scams.

       And voicemail smishing, where crooks send a text pretending to have a link, is also rising.

       Proofpoint operates the 7726 text service where people can report spam texts for free, and it collects data. Which? analysis found smishing in the UK grew nearly 700 percent in the first six months of 2021 compared with the second half of 2020.

       And reports of the issue in the UK are 15 times higher than in the US.