You get a text or email saying a parcel couldn't be delivered because of a small unpaid fee, or that your address details are missing. There's a link to "resolve" it. This is one of the most common scams around, because it's cheap to run, feels urgent, and almost everyone is expecting a delivery at any given time. Here's how these scams work and how to check a courier website before you type in anything.

How the scam works

You receive a message that looks like it's from a postal service or courier, claiming there's a small outstanding charge — often a customs fee, redelivery fee, or storage fee. The link leads to a page styled like the real courier's website, asking you to "pay" a tiny amount, usually just a dollar or two. The trick is that the amount is small enough that people don't think twice. But the payment form isn't collecting a delivery fee — it's harvesting your full card details, and sometimes your name, address, and date of birth too. In many cases the card gets charged repeatedly, or the details are sold on and used elsewhere.

Other versions skip the fee entirely and instead ask you to "confirm your details" or "reschedule delivery," using the form to collect personal information or install something on your device if you click through on a phone.

Red flags in the message itself

  • You weren't expecting a parcel. If nothing is currently in transit to you, be suspicious of any delivery notice.
  • Urgency and threats. Messages that warn your parcel will be "returned to sender" or "destroyed" within 24–48 hours are designed to make you act without thinking.
  • Generic greetings. Real courier notifications usually include a tracking number and sometimes your name; scam texts often don't, or use a fake-looking reference.
  • Odd sender details. Texts from random mobile numbers or emails from addresses that don't match the courier's real domain are a strong warning sign.
  • A request for payment by card for a tiny amount. Legitimate customs or redelivery fees are handled through official channels, not a random link in a text message.

How to check the actual website

Never use the link in the message. Instead, verify independently:

  • Look at the domain carefully. Scam sites often use a courier's name plus extra words or odd endings — for example, a brand name followed by random letters, or a domain ending that isn't the courier's usual one. Look for misspellings, added hyphens, or unfamiliar extensions.
  • Go direct. Open a new browser tab and type the courier's known website address yourself, or use the tracking tool on their official app. Enter your tracking number there rather than following a link.
  • Check how old the site is and how it's built. Scam pages are often thrown together quickly: broken links, stock images that don't match the brand, inconsistent fonts, or a design that looks slightly off compared to the real site.
  • Check for a proper checkout. A genuine fee page, if one ever exists, would be part of the courier's real payment system, not a bare form asking for your full card number, expiry, CVV, and often extra details like your date of birth or online banking login — that combination is a major red flag.
  • Look for contact and company information. Real courier companies have proper contact pages, help centres, and customer service numbers. A fake site often has none of this, or copies it poorly.
  • Use a website-checking tool. A reputation or safety-checking service, or your browser's built-in safe-browsing warning, can flag sites already reported as suspicious.

If you're not sure whether a parcel is real

Check your order history with the retailer you bought from — most will show you the actual tracking number and courier. You can then enter that tracking number directly on the courier's official site or app. If a text claims to be about a parcel you can't match to any recent order, treat it as fake.

If you've already entered card details

  • Contact your bank or card issuer immediately, explain what happened, and ask about blocking the card and reversing any charges.
  • Keep an eye on your statements for unfamiliar transactions, including small "test" charges that sometimes appear before larger ones.
  • Change any passwords you may have reused if the fake site also asked for login details.
  • Report the message to your phone or email provider, and to your national consumer-protection or fraud-reporting body, so it can be tracked and blocked.

A simple habit that stops most of these scams

Make it a rule to never click a link in an unexpected delivery message. Instead, open the courier's app or type their address into your browser yourself. Genuine delivery issues will also show up there, so you lose nothing by checking independently — and you avoid handing over your card details to a fake page built to look convincing for just long enough to catch you off guard.