Last week, I wrote at length about the rise in QR code scams, including how they work, their rise and why they have been so successful. Unfortunately, this type of scam is not the only way that criminals can obtain personal details or your hard-earned money.

Money mogul and TV personality Martin Lewis recently posted online about a rise in bizarre images shared on social media, which features a celebrity either being arrested or reported as having passed away. This is another scam tactic.

I spoke with a cyber security expert based in Monmouthshire, who helped me examine this and one other way that scammers are trying to trick you, both of which have found their way on the rise lately.

Here are two more tactics you need to be aware of.

Celebrities certainly have an influence on our behaviour. Whether this is us trying to imitate their talents of music, acting or sports - or just trying to look like them. Indeed, marketing experts have said the use of celebrities can help promote a brand and build trust or credibility to a campaign.

Of course, this is ideal ammunition for a scammer. It means we are far more likely to fall for a scam if it has a celebrity photograph attached to it, and this is even more likely when the story it is linked to is shocking, such as an unexpected death or an arrest.

On April 24, Martin Lewis, sometimes referred to as “Money Man”, shared a picture via his Facebook page which seemed to show a photograph of him with handcuffs on next to two police officers. This was captioned with “is this the end of Martin’s Career?” and featured a link to a website.

Martin is not the only celebrity to have been used in this type of scam. However, by using someone as famous and mild-mannered as him, the ‘shock factor’ is certainly an attraction to click the link.

Martin Lewis said: “There are a raft of these nasty, scam adverts appearing on social media; both with me and others in purporting to people being arrested. They are done by criminals as clickbait with the aim of drawing you in then trying to get you to set up investment products, which aren't real, and can lead to some losing £10,000s. If you see them, report them. Do not open them.”

A Monmouthshire cyber security expert, who wished to remain anonymous but for the purposes of this article will be known as John, examined the image.

John said: “The picture is an AI generated image that is designed to be suggestive and generate interest, ultimately to be eye catching and drive traffic toward the site. It works with people of a certain age demographic who may not understand, or be able to tell the difference between a real image and something that’s AI generated.

“I’d expect younger generations to be less likely to fall for it as they are generally more aware and more able to determine the difference between a genuine photo and something that’s been AI-generated. Unfortunately, it’s far too easy to generate an AI image now.”

Most of us have probably missed a parcel delivery, and it’s not usually a big deal. Typically, a note which says ‘sorry we missed you’ is left, with details of how you can collect it.

However, with the rise of digital technology, couriers are using SMS and other similar services to allow you to reschedule your deliveries. But how can you tell the difference?

In reality, the best thing to do is contact the courier directly. If you are unsure about the message and you’re expecting a parcel, look up the customer service number for the courier and ask for advice. Never click on a link if you’re unsure of its origins.

Luckily, some services have provided advice. The Royal Mail has shown a variety of scam examples via its website, ranging from fake track and trace text messages, Christmas parcel scams and unpaid delivery fee scam messages.

South Wales Police recently shared that one of its staff had received a text message purporting to be from courier service, Evri, which said “our driver was unable to deliver your parcel” and provided a link to reschedule.

A spokesperson said: “These scams are very plausible, and with fraudsters trying to dupe people through dodgy links or by getting them to input their card details, it’s always worth being on your guard.

“Messages such as this one look really believable, especially if you were expecting a parcel anyway.”

John reiterated this point by South Wales Police. He told me: “This is a weaponised version of a commonality that people may have experienced before. It looks more or less like you’d expect a notification text from Evri, Yodel, Royal Mail, FedEx and others to.

“It works usually by URL shortening, which hides the true URL and redirects to it which will often be a clone of a genuine site. This is typically used as a hooking mechanism for some kind of phishing or financial scam.

“It employs a common hooking tactic of causing a sense of urgency in the victim, or at the very least some curiosity, and is more likely to work because it’s reasonable that at least one recipient will have an order they’ve made legitimately and are expecting, which could reasonably be sent via Evri or another service, which increases the likelihood of them falling victim to it. There’s effectiveness in the simplicity of it.”

Keep it simple. Do not click links, do not reply to texts or emails, do not share bizarre social media posts from unknown sources, and above all else - do not give away any personal details. If you feel you have been compromised, you must contact your bank, which has its number on the back of your card, and call 101 to report it to the police.