Royal Mail customers have taken to social media to share examples of scammers using highly “sophisticated tactics” to defraud the public. These tactics involve posing as the Royal Mail, with a “highly convincing” text currently making the rounds - the text claims to have been sent from the Royal Mail and says that the recipient must pay a shipping fee in order to receive their delivery. ‘Highly convincing’ The text message in question says: “Royal Mail: Your package has been held and will not be delivered due to a £1.99 unpaid shipping fee.” Another similar version of this text also reads: “Royal Mail: Please pay your dispatch fee immediately at [link] or your letter will be returned to sender.” Both versions provide a link for the recipient to click in order to pay their fee, which is a scam designed to lure victims into sharing their bank details. Royal Mail states: “Please don’t click on any links and be vigilant if you receive a communication which you aren’t sure about.” Tony Pepper, CEO of cyber security firm Egress, said: "As the world continues to rely on digital communication channels wherever possible, we've seen an inevitable surge in phishing activity over the last year, with cyber criminals sending out highly convincing emails posing as trusted organisations. "Unfortunately, these recent emails claiming to be from the Royal Mail are part of the latest scheme aimed at tricking people into parting with their money – and in many cases are using incredibly sophisticated tactics to do so." ‘Never follow any links in SMS messages’ Ray Walsh, Digital Privacy Expert at ProPrivacy, advised, “Anybody in the UK that receives a text message purporting to be from a delivery service must remember that it could be a scam and that they should never follow any links contained in SMS messages or provide their information to the sender. “If you are expecting a parcel and have not received it yet, contact the retailer or delivery service directly to rectify it and ignore any incoming messages that attempt to make you part with personal information. “Scammers use cleverly worded messages that employ urgency to trick their victims, so if you get a text message that tells you to act quickly to secure your parcel it is vital not to panic or you could end up having your data stolen.” How to spot a scam There are a number of ways that you can spot a scam or fake message. Things to look out for include: If you’re unsure about the message you’ve received in any way, you should always err on the side of caution. Reach out to the company that is supposedly trying to communicate with you in a way that is completely separate from the message. Don’t use any phone numbers, email address or linked websites. Instead, search for the company and use a different number or email address, from its website for example. The Royal Mail has been the target of scammers and fraudsters before, and as such, has compiled helpful advice about staying safe. Royal Mail says: How to report a scam message If you have received a suspicious text message from someone claiming to be the Royal Mail, you should report it to reportascam@royalmail.com. For suspicious text messages, you should send a screenshot of the message to the above email address. Alternatively you can forward the scam text to 7726. You can also report the scam to Action Fraud. For scams in or from Scotland, you should contact Police Scotland on the 101 telephone service. A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site NationalWorld