Anyone with a mobile phone deal is being warned about new scams hitting in 2026, where scammers contact people directly. BBC Radio 4 show You and Yours reported that victims are targeted with a direct call and end up having expensive phones sent to their home 'by accident', which they then send back to the scammers.
How the Scam Works
All UK mobile phone companies like Sky, Tesco Mobile, EE, Vodafone and O2 have been hit by 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.”
“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.”
Victim’s Experience
One user told the show she had just been on the phone to Sky adjusting her phone bill when she got another call purporting to be from the provider. She said: “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 free smartphone and was asked to give her email address and date of birth. A few days later a new Samsung phone worth £1,200 and earphones worth £200 arrived. She added: “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, scanned the QR code, printed the label and sent them. The QR code came from a WhatsApp account called ‘Sky Return’. Then another parcel arrived with the same phone and earbuds, and again the victim sent it back. She then had another call from the woman screaming that she hadn’t returned the phones. The next day she called Sky, who said no-one from the company had called her apart from the original bill negotiation.
Other Cases
One user told the Mirror: “I had a call from Sky saying they wanted to cut my bill at 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.”
In some cases, criminals even turn up at the person’s front door as a courier saying they need to take the phones away, You and Yours reported. The QR code from the above scam went to a terraced house in South Liverpool. A similar case involved Tesco Mobile, where the victim was told 3G was being switched off and they needed new SIM cards. They were offered a deal on an Apple iPhone and watch, which they declined, but both arrived. Soon the QR code was sent. She drove to a Tesco Mobile shop, which told her they’d had hundreds of these scams. Victim Jenny took product ID codes before sending them off, so they were able to stop them being used in the UK.
Both Sky and Tesco Mobile accepted the pair had been victims of fraud. Reporter Catherine Earlam said: “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.”
