The £1.50 Trap: How to Spot a Fake Delivery Text Scam
You are expecting a birthday gift or a recent online purchase to arrive in the mail. Suddenly, you get a text message saying: "Your package was unable to be delivered due to an unpaid shipping fee of £1.50. Please click here to pay and schedule redelivery."
It seems so harmless. Who wouldn't pay a tiny fee to ensure their package arrives? But take a deep breath and pause. This is a very common fake delivery text scam. Scammers know that almost everyone is waiting for a package on any given day, making this one of the most successful tricks in their playbook.
3 Warning Signs of a Delivery Scam
Whether they claim to be from Royal Mail, UPS, FedEx, or Evri, the scammers almost always leave these three clues behind:
1. The Tiny Fee Request
A royal mail redelivery scam text will often ask for a very small amount of money. They do not actually want your £1.50. They want you to type your credit card number into their fake website so they can drain your account later.
2. A Strange Web Link
Look closely at the link in the text. Instead of leading to a simple, official website, it might look like `royalmail-tracking-update12.com` or use a shortened link that hides where it actually goes.
3. Missing Package Details
Real delivery notifications will often include your actual tracking number or your name. Scam texts are completely generic, saying "Dear Customer" or "Your parcel," because they send the exact same text to thousands of people at once.
What to Do Next
Do not click the link in the text message. If you are genuinely worried about a missing package, open your web browser, go directly to the official courier's website yourself, and type in your tracking number there. If there is a real issue, the official site will tell you.
The Golden Rule
Official postal services will almost never text you asking for your credit card details to release a package. When in doubt, delete the text and track your items directly through the store you bought them from.