Summer is about letting it hang loose. The weather’s great, the vibes are immaculate, and normally our biggest concerns are if we’ve got enough sunscreen on (you don’t – put on more) or if we can get a food delivery driver to find us in a park (probably not, but it’s got to be worth a try).

The relaxed attitude that comes with the sunny season is why it’s important to remember that while you might be taking a break, the scammers never do. Because summer is a period when you may let your guard down is precisely why fraudsters use this time of the year to strike.

A quick refresher for Virgin Media customers: we’ll will never ask you for your full password, memorable word, or to confirm your full account details as a security question. That goes for calls, texts, emails, social media chats or anything else. Never means never.

Fraudsters are always trying to find new ways to trick and con us. We’ve picked out four recent spam text trends to help you identify what to look out for this summer and beyond. Plus, read on to find out how to report scams and help shut them down faster.

The Hi Mum / Hi Dad scam

Despite the rise in new types of phishing texts, “Hi Mum/Hi Dad” messages – where scammers pretend to be someone’s child (particularly adult children) texting from a new or friend’s mobile number because their phone is broken, lost or stolen, and ask for money – continue to top the list of spam texts reported and blocked.

When people are on holidays and at festivals where a phone can get misplaced or dropped in a pool, it’s a scam that taps into believability. A typical message might read: “Hey mum my phone broke earlier today i’m so stressed out. I’ll be on this phone for a few days until i get mine fixed, save this number and reply so i know you got it xx.”

If you receive a message like this, your first port of call should be to contact your child or family member, either through their original number or an alternative contact means, like a different messaging service or private messaging on social media.

If you do reply to that message and the sender asks for money, don’t be tempted to transfer money immediately. Enquire further by asking who specifically it is by name and by calling them or asking for a voice note.

The fake delivery text scam

Before we head off on holiday, we’ll often expect deliveries – whether it’s new clothes or even a new passport. So when you receive a text from what looks like a well-known and trusted delivery company saying they need to redeliver your parcel, you might think about clicking on the link.

Don’t. While many delivery companies will include tracking links in their messages, even if you are expecting a parcel, a safer way of tracking its status is to use the official website of the delivery company. Alternatively, you can use the delivery company’s official app for tracking deliveries. Only download these from an official app store.

It’s worth noting that criminals are getting better at making these messages seem genuine, whether it’s including personal greetings such as your name (rather than “Dear customer”) or spoofing the company’s name in the sender information. So be extra vigilant.

Banking transactions or payment issues text scams

With money flying out of your account during the holiday season, seeing a text that looks like it’s from your bank with an amount or vendor you don’t recognise may make your blood run cold. Rather than thinking the message itself is a scam, you might worry that you have already been scammed – leading you to act in haste.

While banks will send genuine query messages to alert you that they’ve detected potentially unauthorised transactions within your account, it’s always far safer to contact your bank directly, either through their official app or the phone number listed on your card or their website, rather than clicking a link in an unsolicited text.

Look out for spelling or grammatical errors, informal language and other telltale signs like links, incorrect phone numbers or requests for urgent action.

Energy efficiency scheme and grants text scams

While this isn’t strictly summer-related, there has been a significant increase in the number of fake “ECO4” energy efficiency scheme texts in recent months. These are texts sent by scammers that fraudulently use the government energy efficiency scheme and other energy bill support programmes as a ploy to trick you into handing over personal data or payment details.

You can check whether a company is verified to work on government schemes by searching for the business on TrustMark, the government-endorsed quality scheme. As with all the types of scam mentioned here, don’t click on links in texts, look out for obvious signs and, if in doubt, contact the company directly through official means.

How to report suspected scam texts

Scammers will stop at nothing when targeting their victims, and it’s more important than ever to stay vigilant. So always take time to look at any message you receive closely. If it’s from an unknown number, if it requests payment, if it’s marked as “urgent” or if it has something that seems out of place, it might be a scam.

If you ever think you’ve been the victim of a scam or fraud – whether you’ve given your details over the phone, or clicked a dodgy link in a text or email and shared sensitive info – don’t panic. Here are some things you can do:

• Get in touch with your bank if you think you might have given out any financial info – they’ll try to recover any money you’ve lost. You can call 159 to connect directly to most UK banks

• Change your account password(s)

• Forward fraudulent texts to us at 7726 – which spells SPAM – and emails to phishing@virginmedia.com and we’ll look into them (it won’t cost you anything)

• It won’t cost you anything to send messages to 7726 on any network and it means we can investigate the sender

• If your phone supports SPAM reporting (currently available if you have an Android device using the Google Messenger App, but others will be available soon), then press the SPAM button to automatically forward the message to 7726

• Ring Action Fraud (the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime) on 0300 123 2040 or use their online reporting tool at reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting

Virgin Media Essential Security: online security built into your home WiFi network

Don’t forget that for Virgin Media broadband customers, Essential Security is always on guard, picking up on scam websites and warning you before your devices are exposed to anything malicious. That means your family can browse to the max, knowing we’ve got your backs. The best bit? It’s built into your home’s WiFi network, at no extra cost – and it’s automatically activated when you join us, so you don’t need to lift a finger. Manage your Essential Security, including parental controls, from My Virgin Media.

Virgin Media Advanced Security: extra online security for total peace of mind

Kick things up a notch with our award-winning Advanced Security add-on, free for the first three months. It’s packed with premium features that’ll keep you safe on as many devices as you need – even when you’re not connected to your home WiFi. Sign up here for Virgin Media Advanced Security to start your no-commitment three-month trial today. No bank or credit card details are required for the trial so there’s no need to worry about sneaky auto-renewals or unexpected bills. Simply download the app on all your devices to get going. If you’re happy with the service after your trial, you then have the option to subscribe for £3 a month.