It's the middle of the night and your mobile phone buzzes with a message.

It's quite likely to be from someone masquerading as Australia Post or another freight company about a delayed delivery.

Just 'click here' and rather than all your problems being solved, they are likely just about to begin!

Statistics released in May show that almost three quarters of Australians receive these type of scams.

Research undertaken by Australia Post shows that of the 75 per cent of people targeted by scams about deliveries and packages, 27 per cent fall victim to the ruse which often results in fraud or identity theft. Alarmingly, 5 per cent of people report losing more than $20000.

Australia Post’s Group Chief Executive & Managing Director Paul Graham said Australians are losing billions’ of dollars to scams each year.

"Scam attempts are becoming more sophisticated, frequent and increasingly harder to detect and our latest research reveals that most of us have already been targeted," Mr Graham said.

“With many people being bombarded with fake texts, emails and calls the best way for customers to stay safe from scams is by using the free AusPost app, which tracks deliveries securely.”

He went on to say that Australia Post will never call, text or email you asking for personal or financial information including password, credit card details or account information or call, text or email you to request payment.

Over 80 per cent of Australians are receiving up to ten scam texts and calls every week with research suggests that 15 per cent of people are receiving 16 or more scam emails a week. 

Australia Post is urging people to protect themselves as scams continue to increase and become more convincing.

More than half of those surveyed revealed they had initially believed a fake delivery message was legitimate and pursued it before realising the content was fraudulent.

Last December, a man from Sydney was charged for allegedly sending more than 17 million scam texts impersonating large businesses such as Australia Post and Linkt.

He sent mass texts with fraudulent links across networks nationwide.

ACCCs top tips on protecting yourself against scams are as follows -

• Download the official app and turn on notifications so you can be confident the message is real.
• Never click on links in texts or emails.
• Don’t give money or personal information if you are unsure. Scammers will create a sense of urgency, such as telling you your parcel could not be delivered.
• Don’t rush to act.
• Act quickly if you think something feels wrong and immediately report it to your bank if you lose money.

For more tips on how to navigate parcel and delivery scams visit the Australia Post website.

The site also outlines current scams to look out for.

The advice is clear when it comes to suspicious text messages regarding deliveries - do NOT click on any unexpected/unusual links or open attachments.

The scammers are powerless if you don't play into their hands.