The Australian Federal Police is bracing for a surge in Australians falling prey to fake delivery scams as criminal syndicates exploit the Christmas shopping period.

Chris Goldsmid, AFP Commander of Cybercrime Operations is warning Australians to be extra vigilant when shopping online during the silly season.

“The scams we are talking about are the text messages and emails that you receive indicating that you have a package on the way and trying to get you to click a link or open an attachment,” he told Millsy and Karl on 6PR Breakfast.

“A few things to look out for are – if anything is unsolicited or unexpected that is a big red flag, a request for your personal or financial details as legitimate delivery companies do not ask for those types of information that’s another red flag, a sense of urgency or if the link doesn’t look quiet right – contact the company through a legitimate channel by googling them.”

Press PLAY to hear more on how you can protect yourself this Christmas season