Mobile phone contract holders are being warned about scams expected to intensify throughout 2026, in which fraudsters contact victims directly and trick them into returning high-value handsets they never ordered.
BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme heard that people are being approached by telephone calls, resulting in expensive phones being delivered to their addresses “in error”, which they then send back – but straight into the hands of criminals. Sky, Tesco Mobile, EE, Vodafone and O2 have all fallen victim to these scams.
Presenter Winifred Robinson said: “Thousands of people are receiving top of the range phones they didn't order after being contacted by people they thought were from their phone company but who were in fact criminals. What happens is that the phone arrives and the criminals instruct their victims to put their phones in a bag and post it onto them.”
She added: “Your phone company, meanwhile, thinks that it was you who ordered these phones and adds them to your bill. It's a large-scale fraud - nearly 30,000 expensive phones were stolen in this way last year alone. Many people didn't realise they'd been scammed until the phone bill arrived.”
Sky customer targeted after bill call
One listener told the programme she had been speaking to Sky about adjusting her monthly charges when she received a follow-up call seemingly from the same company. She recalled: “He was very helpful on the phone - he got the bill down. Then about three days later, I was on some step ladders on the wall, taking some ivy down. I answered my phone, the woman on the phone said it was Sky offering me 20 per cent off your bill.”
The victim said she was offered a complimentary smartphone after providing her email address and date of birth. Days later, a brand new Samsung handset arrived through the post alongside earphones, with the phone valued at £1,200 and the earbuds worth £200.
She continued: “Later that day, a frantic phone call from the same woman - I recognised the voice and it was the same number on my phone. She said, 'I'm so sorry, there's been a problem at the depot. The phone and the earbuds were meant for another customer. I'm going to send you a QR code. Please can you take them down to the post office and send them back. And to say sorry we will send to £300 of Tesco vouchers.'”
The victim took the items to the post office, where they were scanned, a label was generated and the goods were dispatched. The QR code originated from a WhatsApp account named 'Sky Return'. Subsequently, another package containing identical items arrived – prompting another telephone call – and the victim returned those as well.
Another call from the woman followed. The victim said: “She was screaming down the phone, saying I hadn't returned any of the phones, they were going to take all the money from my account and I'd stolen the phones.” The next day she contacted Sky directly and discovered nobody from the company had telephoned her except during the initial bill discussion.
Other incidents and courier scam
One person told Reach: “I had a call from Sky saying they wanted to cut my bill as so many customers had changed. They asked for my email address then said they'd sent me a pin code which I gave them. I then realised they hadn't really given me any proof - so I immediately rang off and changed my passwords straight away. They'd got access through my stupidity, but I cut them off.”
You and Yours reported that in some instances, fraudsters have appeared at victims' homes posing as couriers claiming they had to collect the handsets – although this alternative technique relies on the QR codes. The QR code from the above scam led to a terraced property in South Liverpool.
A comparable incident involved Tesco Mobile, where the target was told 3G was being phased out and she required replacement SIM cards. She was offered an Apple iPhone and watch, which she refused, yet both devices subsequently arrived. Shortly afterwards, a QR code was dispatched. She went to a Tesco Mobile store and was told they had encountered hundreds of such scams. The victim, named Jenny, recorded product ID codes before returning the devices, enabling the company to prevent their activation in the UK.
Sky and Tesco Mobile acknowledged that the two individuals had fallen prey to fraud. Reporter Catherine Earlam advised: “If you're interested in an offer, put down the phone, and call back your genuine provider to check and beware of QR codes on items you didn't order.”
