Britain's most common scam this year revealed - and how to protect yourself

Four out of every ten individuals reported being approached by scammers who sent messages prompting them to click on suspicious links to reschedule a package delivery or make a payment, for a fake charge.

The survey also highlighted prevalent scams, like deceptive social media marketplace advertisements and AI voice replication technology.

30% of individuals fell victim to scams where fraudsters pretended to be their friends or family members while a comparable number encountered fraudulent ticket schemes.

Advances in AI have also been identified as fuel, for emerging schemes.

Scammers have been able to craft convincing scams using deepfake software and automated phishing systems along, with chatbots.

The majority of individuals, between the ages of 18 and 24 were most affected by hardships—approximately sixty percent either experienced these challenges personally or knew someone who did.

About one, out of seven individuals aged 65 and above reported being scammed or knowing someone who fell victim to scams.

Stuart Skinner, from NatWest mentioned that fake parcel delivery messages have become the rapidly increasing scam of the year according to their survey findings.

"Do you ever wonder if a legitimate delivery service would actually request that you click on a link to make a payment?"

Watch out for messages or requests, for payments or app downloads as they may contain spyware.