How to Spot Phishing Emails and Scam Texts
Learn the warning signs of phishing emails, scam texts and fake delivery or bank messages in the UK, and what to do if you have already clicked.
Phishing is the art of persuading you to hand over something valuable: a password, a card number or a click that installs something harmful. The messages are getting more polished, so spotting the pattern matters more than spotting spelling mistakes.
The usual disguises
- Bank or card alerts: "unusual activity", "your account is locked".
- Delivery notices: a missed parcel and a small fee to rearrange.
- Tax, council or benefit refunds: official-sounding messages promising money.
- Subscription renewals: a large charge that you did not make, with a number to ring.
- A message from "a family member" on a new number asking for urgent money.
- Work emails: the boss asking for gift cards, or a changed supplier bank detail.
- Account verification: "confirm your details to avoid suspension".
Warning signs
- Urgency or threat. Deadlines, penalties and fear are a pressure technique.
- An unexpected request for a password, code or payment.
- A generic greeting such as "Dear customer", though some are personalised.
- A sender address that is close but wrong, such as an extra letter or an unfamiliar domain.
- Links that do not match. On a computer, hover over the link without clicking to see the real address. On a phone, press and hold.
- Unexpected attachments.
- Slightly off tone or branding.
- A request to keep it secret or to bypass normal procedures.
Safer habits
- Do not click links in messages claiming to be from a bank or service. Open the app or type the address yourself.
- Phone back on a number you already trust, such as the one on your card.
- Never share one-time codes. See two-factor authentication explained.
- Let a password manager fill logins, as it will not offer to fill on a fake lookalike site. See the password manager guide.
- Pause. A message that makes your heart race deserves five minutes before you act.
What to do with a suspicious message
- Do not reply, click or call numbers in it.
- Check by contacting the organisation through its official app or website.
- Forward suspicious emails and texts to the official reporting channels used in the UK.
- Delete it, and block the sender.
If you have already clicked or entered details
Stay calm and act in this order:
- If you entered a password, change it immediately, and anywhere else you used it.
- If you shared card or bank details, call your bank on a trusted number straight away.
- If you installed something or let someone in remotely, disconnect from the internet and see how to stay safe with remote access and signs your computer has a virus.
- Turn on two-factor authentication on the affected accounts.
- Watch your accounts for unusual activity.
Reporting quickly and honestly makes a real difference to the outcome.
Phishing and the workplace
Small businesses are targeted with fake invoices and bosses asking for urgent payments. A simple rule helps: any change to bank details is confirmed by phone, using a number you already hold. More ideas are in the small business IT basics checklist.
Helping a relative
Agree a family code word for urgent money requests, and tell relatives that no genuine organisation will pressure them. See tech help for seniors for more.
Getting help
If you have clicked something and are unsure about the state of your device, a technician can check it. On Compito you can search by postcode, compare ID-verified local providers and send a request describing what happened. You receive an offer to accept and pay online and message the provider before any work begins. See tech support services.
A worked example: the parcel text
A text says a parcel could not be delivered and asks for £1.45 to rearrange. It uses a link you do not recognise. You are, in fact, expecting something, which makes it feel believable. Rather than tap, you open the retailer's app or website, or search for the delivery company yourself, and see that there is no failed delivery. The small fee was the lure, because the real aim is your card details and a follow-up call posing as your bank. The habit that saves you is simple: leave the message, go to the source.
Phishing, smishing and vishing
| Name | Channel | Typical trick |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing | Fake login pages, invoices, attachments | |
| Smishing | Text or messaging apps | Parcel fees, bank alerts, "new number" messages |
| Vishing | Phone calls | "Fraud team" asking you to move money |
| Quishing | QR codes | Codes in letters or on posters leading to fake pages |
Mistakes people make
- Trusting a caller ID or a sender name, both of which can be faked.
- Assuming a message is safe because it arrived in the same thread as genuine ones.
- Replying "STOP" to a scam text, which can confirm that the number is live.
- Opening a document to see if it is "real".
- Feeling embarrassed and delaying reporting.
Edge cases
Messages that name you or mention a real purchase. Data from breaches and public sources makes personalisation easy, so personal details are not proof.
Messages from a friend's hacked account. If a friend asks for money or sends an odd link, contact them another way.
Job and investment offers. Unsolicited offers that need you to pay up front or share ID are a common route to fraud.
Quick test before you act
- Did I expect this?
- Is it asking for money, a code or a login?
- Can I check it another way, using an app or number I already trust?
If the answer to the first is no and the second is yes, stop and check.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get infected just by opening an email?
It is uncommon with modern systems, but clicking links or opening attachments is where the risk lies. Keep software updated.
Why do I get so many scam texts?
Numbers are sold and guessed in bulk. Do not reply, and report and block them.
Are all emails with spelling mistakes scams?
No, and plenty of scams are well written. Judge by the request and the sender, not just the grammar.