Scams · 2 min read
Fake package-delivery texts spike with holiday shipping: how to spot them
Scammers spoof USPS, UPS and FedEx with “update your address” and “pay a tariff” texts. Carriers and the FCC say real delivery notices do not demand payment or personal data through surprise links.
As more parcels move ahead of the holidays, fake delivery texts and emails are circulating again. The usual pitch is urgency: your package is held, the address is wrong, or a new import tariff must be paid before the courier will release it. The FCC’s consumer guide on package delivery scams walks through the pattern, including newer “stuck in customs / pay the tariff” variants that appeared after de minimis tariff rule changes.
How the scam works
You get an unexpected SMS or email that looks like USPS, UPS, FedEx or a store’s shipping desk. It includes a short link or a phone number and asks you to confirm an address, pay a small fee or “unlock” the shipment. The page may harvest card details and passwords, or the call may push you into a remote-access app or a fake refund.
A related ploy, which the U.S. Postal Inspection Service warns about, is a “free” package you never ordered (brushing) that includes a QR code to a phishing site. USPIS also flags unsolicited texts that claim a USPS delivery needs your action and point to a non-postal Service link.
FedEx and UPS both say they do not ask for payment or personal information through unsolicited texts and email. USPIS says legitimate USPS tracking texts, when you have opted in with a tracking number, do not contain links.
What you can do
- Do not tap links or call numbers in unexpected delivery messages. Open the retailer’s order page or the carrier’s site by typing the address yourself.
- Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) for your wireless carrier. Forward suspicious USPS-related emails to spam@uspis.gov.
- Report money loss or personal information given up at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Treat gift-card, crypto or “pay now or it goes back” demands as fraud.
- See our fake gift-card reward scams post if the message is a survey-and-subscription trap instead of a courier notice.
How Frame helps
Frame’s email aliases let you give shops and marketplaces their own addresses, so a fake “shipping desk” message that arrives at the wrong alias stands out. Frame can also look up your verified emails in Have I Been Pwned’s breach database if a past breach is feeding personalized scam texts. Frame never handles your parcels or carrier accounts.
Related coverage
- Fake gift card giveaways are a survey-and-subscription trap.
- How scammers use leaked data to make phishing personal.
Sources
- Federal Communications Commission, How to Avoid Package Delivery Scams, updated December 1, 2025
- Federal Trade Commission, ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- Online Threat Alerts, Fedexldp Scam Calls and Text Messages, November 8, 2026
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About once a month. Plain-language privacy notes, nothing else. I never share your address.