Earlier this week, the Malta Police Force said that a number of victims were scammed out of over €10,000.

In a Facebook post, the police said a “substantial amount” of scam reports had been received over a period of 24 hours. Members of the public had received a text message, purportedly from DHL, advising them that their package has arrived and that it would be delivered by post after they settle a €1.99 delivery fee.

Scam messages and calls are nothing new and have been happening for years. We all remember those messages claiming we’ve won a prize, or an email from a fake long-lost relative saying we have inherited some funds.

Scams over the years have been getting more and more tricky to uncover, such as the one above. As the police and other authorities advise the public of these scams, they change, evolve.

This is why it is no longer enough just to know of the current scams that are taking place. It is not enough to know not to pick up a call coming from some country we have no links to, or to ignore an email that is asking for a deposit in order for someone to send us money we have inherited.

We need to become more aware of the lengths some people will go to in order to steal.

As such, our best form of defence is to ask questions. Why is my bank asking me for my details through a message? Why is a mail company asking me to pay funds through a text?

The key is to, when in doubt, check with the company itself. Don’t call a number that would be included in the text, but go onto the company’s official website and call their helpline.

More international cooperation between authorities is also needed to catch these scammers. It is doubtful that the Maltese Police Force can do anything about a scammer based in Germany for instance, but they can coordinate with the authorities there to help identify the person.

The fact that people in Malta are losing thousands of euros to such scams means that this is a problem that needs to be tackled.

In addition, we must also ensure that the elderly, who might not be as tech savvy or knowledgeable about such things, are as best informed as possible about the types of scams and the tricks which are used.

One good thing which has been done over recent years is that companies are more often than not issuing statements about scam messages or emails being sent pretending to come from them, thus informing the public. The police have also sent out similar alerts to inform the public about such situations. This is an important piece of the puzzle to help people realise that something is a scam.