The FTC has a warning about scammers impersonating delivery companies

A majority of Americans shop online and if you order lots of things to be delivered, it can be hard to keep track of what's in the mail and who is delivering it.

So a recent warning from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a good reminder to be careful and avoid clicking on text scams. In 2022 alone, people in the U.S. were scammed out of $330 million, with a median loss of $1,000.

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Scams that impersonate UPS  (UPS) - Get Free Report, FedEx  (FDX) - Get Free Report, USPS and Amazon  (AMZN) - Get Free Report are increasingly aimed at people’s smartphones. 

The texts come through with codes that appear to be tracking information for the delivery companies, and usually state that a package is either delayed or undeliverable. Fake package delivery problems was one of the top scams that came through text message, along with copycat bank fraud prevention alerts.

The delivery text scams come with a link. Once the person receiving the text opens it they get taken to a website that appears legit, stating that they need to pay a redelivery fee to get their order.

The victims of these scams are then asked for additional information in order to collect a redelivery fee. The link scam asks for information that the actual delivery companies would not request, like a person’s credit card, and other personal information including a social security number.

To the untrained eye, these messages appear to be coming from mainstream delivery companies, but small details show the scammer's true colors. There are usually misspellings in the email addresses or company names and that can be a dead giveaway that it's not a legit link.

The Takeaway: The FTC says the best way to avoid scams is to never click on the link. Instead, go straight to your purchase history to see if you were expecting a package. If you aren’t able to do that, go directly to the company’s website to reach out to customer service. Also, always report the scam to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network.