Fraudsters are sending out virus infected emails to victims that claim a package is waiting for them at their local sorting office.
The emails are similar to the ones we alerted to December but this time fraudsters are hoping that email recipients are waiting for a delivery and download the attachment to find out more.
One victim, who contacted our call centre, downloaded the attachment and unwittingly installed Cryptolocker on her computer. Once installed CryptoLocker works by encrypting victims personal files such as, photos, music, office documents and then demands payment.
Infected users have a time limit to send the payment. If this time elapses, the private key is destroyed, and your personal files may be lost forever.
If you receive one of these emails, do not click on any links or download any attachments and report it to us.
Advice from Royal Mail on scam emails
- Royal Mail will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confidential information.
- Royal Mail will never ask customers to enter information on a page that isn’t part of the Royal Mail website.
- Royal Mail will never include attachments unless the email was solicited by customer e.g. customer has contacted Royal Mail with an enquiry or has signed up for updates from Royal Mail.
- Royal Mail have also stressed that they do not receive a person’s email address as part of any home shopping experience.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
Related links
Fake Royal Mail – Lost/Missing package emails
Royal Mail malware distributed via email
Alert: British Airways "your order has been successfully booked" scam emails
