Fake Courier Alerts Are Being Used to Exploit Online Shoppers Fake Delivery Notification Scam

By Craig Hale • Jan 18, 2026 • E-commerce Fraud

Fake Courier Alerts Are Being Used to Exploit Online Shoppers | Saffron Guru

Scammers are impersonating delivery companies and sending misleading notifications to steal money and sensitive details.

With millions of parcels moving daily, attackers are taking advantage of consumers expecting deliveries.

These messages often claim that a shipment could not be delivered and require immediate action to resolve the issue.

Techniques Used by Scammers

• Fake tracking pages

• Requests for small processing fees

• Lookalike courier websites

• Time-sensitive delivery warnings

In the United States, these messages often pretend to come from USPS, UPS, FedEx or Amazon. The text says your package is on hold and asks you to pay a small redelivery fee or "confirm" your address. The fee is small on purpose. The real goal is to collect your full card details and personal information, which are then used for much larger fraud.

Warning Signs of a Fake Delivery Message

• You were not expecting a package, or the message does not name what was ordered

• You are asked to pay a small fee or update your address through a link

• The link does not go to the official website, such as usps.com, ups.com or fedex.com

• The message says the package will be returned or destroyed today unless you act now

• The text comes from a random phone number or an unusual email address

• USPS does not send texts or emails with links unless you signed up for tracking updates

What To Do Instead

• Do not click the link or reply to the message

• Check your delivery by typing the official courier website yourself, or open the tracking link in your original order email

• If you entered card details, call your bank right away to cancel the card

• Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM), and report fake USPS messages to spam@uspis.gov

• Report the scam at reportfraud.ftc.gov to help protect others

Legitimate courier services do not request payments via random links or messages.

Checking delivery status only through official courier platforms is strongly advised.

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