Got a suspicious text? This WhatsApp number will tell you if it's a scam

'The URL in the image you sent me is not part of the official Royal Mail Website, meaning it's likely a scam.'

This is the response from AI scam-detection tool Ask Silver, when it was sent a screenshot of a message received from an unknown number on WhatsApp.

The text claims to be from Royal Mail, and is trying to convince the recipient to follow a link and update their address, under the pretence that it has a parcel for them with a damaged label.

Click on that link, and up will come a fake website. The victim will be prompted to enter personal information and bank details to pay for a rescheduled parcel delivery.

The fact the text has been sent from a +44 07 UK mobile number - that of an individual, not a company - should be a giveaway, but hundreds of people fall for this type of scam every year.

Parcel delivery scams were the fastest growing scam of 2024, according to NatWest, accounting for one in three scam reports made by its customers.

Ask Silver is a free scam checker that anyone can use to help judge whether a text, website, letter or email is likely to be fake. It operates via WhatsApp and was launched in October last year.

Ask Silver was invented by 32-year old tech entrepreneur Alex Somervell, who is the chief chief executive and co-founder, along with long-term business partner Jonny Pryn.

You can sign up on its website, ask-silver.com, using your phone number and email address. You will then automatically receive a message on WhatsApp from Ask Silver, which has its own number.

You can then run unlimited checks for free on anything you suspect of being a scam - from text messages to suspicious numbers.

To do so, you need to send a photo or screenshot of any email, website or leaflet you're worried about to Ask Silver on WhatsApp.

Using AI, it is then able to check whether links lead to official websites or not, so you know whether they are safe to click on.

After sending the screenshot or image, you will receive one of three replies almost instantly.

A red flag means there has been a match on the system with a known scam and you should under no circumstances engage with the website or email.

An amber flag is sent where there isn't a match on the database, but there are very suspicious elements that suggest the email, text, letter or website is a scam.

Users will rarely receive a yellow flag, which suggests the image appears to be legitimate, but you should still be careful.

Fraud costs banks hundreds of millions in customer reimbursements every year.

Ask Silver is the type of tech that many banks have wanted to offer their customers, but have not been able to - until now.

Last month, Metro Bank became the first UK bank to partner with Ask Silver, suggesting it to its customers as a way they can get a 'second opinion' when deciding if something is a scam.

Metro Bank's fraud boss, Baz Thompson, tells This is Money: 'We wanted to give customers a tool they could have at their fingertips to fight fraud.'

Work is now underway to integrate Ask Silver within Metro Bank's app so that customers don't have to leave their banking app to report a scam text or website link, Alex Somervell tells this is Money.

And it's not just Metro Bank - Ask Silver will soon be adopted by other banks to help fight fraud.

'We are going through onboarding with two big banks and a number of other banks are interested in our tech,' says Somervell.

Metro's fraud chief Thompson has called the partnership with Ask Silver a 'game changer' in protecting customers from fraud and helping to stop crime.

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'Being able to offer a service where customers can know in minutes whether something is fraudulent provides an essential barrier to staying one step ahead of fraudsters,' Thompson says.

But as well as helping customers avoid scams - and saving banks money - the founders of the app also think they can stem the tide of fraud more generally.

'The goal is to stop fraud within the system, not just the banks,' says Somervell.

This is why, when Ask Silver detects a scam, it not only reports back to the customer but also alerts the relevant authorities. For this to happen, the user needs to select this option when prompted in Whatsapp.

Data compliled by You Gov for Ask Silver reveals 47 per cent of people don't know where to report scams.

'AI categorises the fradulent texts, emails and calls and reports them to the relevant authorities - it's a volume game,' says Somervell.

Once scam attempts are reported, the correct authorities can then shut down fraudulent email addresses or websites very quickly.

The reports also help to banks to gather data on how scammers are duping them, which is why reporting scam attempts is so crucial - even if the target hasn't been persuaded to click the link.