Scam of the day – May 2, 2023 – Watch Our for Delivery Scams

by | May 1, 2023 | Scam of the day

Delivery scams have been with us for a long time, however,  the pandemic brought a tremendous increase of deliveries by UPS, Federal Express, Amazon of online purchases  and this increase continues even as the pandemic wanes.  with many of us still finding the convenience of online shopping very attractive.  Scammers are always taking advantage of whatever is popular with people so it is not surprising that there are many scams related to deliveries following online purchases.

Many people are reporting receiving text messages that appear to come from UPS or Federal Express indicating that it is necessary for you to update your delivery preferences.  In order to do so you are asked to click on a link and provide personal information.  Unfortunately, if you click on the link one of two things will happen.  Either you will be taken to a page where you provide your personal information to a criminal who will use the information to make you a victim of identity theft or you will download dangerous malware, such as ransomware, merely by clicking on the link.

TIPS
Whenever you receive an email  or text message from a company that asks you to click on a link or download an attachment, you should hesitate to do so, particularly if it appears bogus.  Never click on any link in an email or text message until you have confirmed that it is legitimate.
As for phone calls, it is important to remember that through a technique called “spoofing,” scammers can make a phone call appear to come from any telephone number that they wish.
If you have the slightest thought that an email or text message asking you to click on a link may be legitimate, rather than click on the link, go to the website of the company, which in the case of Federal Express is www.fedex.com or call them directly at 1-800-463-3339.  Also, if you wish to track a Federal Express delivery go directly to the website of Federal Express rather than click on any link in an email or text message that purports to take you to the Federal Express website.  Similarly, you can do the same for other delivery services.

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