Is this parcel delivery text a scam?
Fake delivery texts are one of the most common scams. They pretend to come from a delivery company or postal service and say your parcel is stuck until you pay a small fee or confirm your details.
Check your message free ↓What it can look like
PostCo: Your parcel is being held at our depot because of an unpaid fee of 1.45. Pay within 12 hours or it will be returned: [link]
A made-up example. Real messages vary.
The warning signs
- You were not expecting a parcel, or the text does not say what is in it.
- It asks for a small fee to release or redeliver the parcel.
- There is a deadline, such as 12 or 24 hours.
- The web address is not the delivery company's real website, or adds extra words to a real name.
- It asks for card details to pay a tiny amount. Scammers use them to take much more later.
What to do
- Do not click the link.
- Check your parcel in the delivery company's own app, or on its website by typing the address yourself.
- Delete the text. In the UK, US and Canada you can forward it to 7726 first, for free.
- If you entered card details, call your bank straight away.
Already paid or shared your details?
- Call your bank straight away, using the number on your card.
- Change any passwords you shared, starting with your email.
- Report it (see below).
- Tell someone you trust. Scams catch careful people too.
United Kingdom
Report fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. Forward scam texts to 7726 and scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Call 159 to reach most UK banks.
United States
Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Forward scam texts to 7726.
Canada
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre on 1-888-495-8501. Forward scam texts to 7726.
Australia
Report it at scamwatch.gov.au. If you lost money, report it to the police at cyber.gov.au and call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for free help.
Anywhere else
Report it to your local police or your national fraud reporting service.
Our checks on this scam
US Postal Inspection Service, via USPS Employee NewsFAKEIs that USPS delivery text genuine? The documented scam pattern
No. The Postal Inspection Service identifies this pattern as impersonation. This is a review of its documented warning, not an assessment of a particular reader’s message or every parcel notification.
Updated 22 September 2026 · Read the evidence ↗Other common scams
- Your bank's "fraud team" calls
- Tax refunds, fines and road tolls
- Celebrity investment adverts
- "Hi Mum, I've got a new number"
- A loved one's voice on the phone
- Fake shops and too-good deals
- Computer help calls and pop-ups
- Requests for a security code
- Online friends who talk about money
- Calls from the "police" asking for money
- Power or water cut-off messages
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Reporting details were checked on 26 September 2026. Another AI Lie is not linked to the organisations named. Example messages are made up.