ST. LOUIS — As the holiday shopping season ramps up, so do the tactics of scammers preying on online shoppers and gift-givers. A new wave of fraudulent text messages claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service is making the rounds with unsuspecting victims falling prey.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service warns that if you never signed up for a USPS tracking request for a specific package via text message, don't click the link. Scammers will try to seek personal or financial information from you, such as account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs) or other sensitive information, in order to carry out other crimes like financial fraud.
The scam messages will often contain things “your account has been suspended”, “there is suspicious activity on your account,” "there is a problem with your shipping address" or “there is a package waiting for you at the Post Office," according to the U.S. Postal Service.
In some cases, scammers may demand payment for package redelivery. However, USPS does not charge a fee for redelivery services.
If you receive a text message you believe to be suspicious, do not click any links or reply to the message. Instead, report it and directly visit USPS.com to confirm the status of your package.
How to report scam messages
If the scam text message is related to USPS, report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Here's how to do it:
- Report via email: Without clicking any of the links, copy the suspicious text message and paste it into a new email to spam@uspis.gov. Include your name and attach a screenshot of the message showing the number of the sender and the date sent. Include any relevant details in the email, like if you clicked the link, provided personal information or lost money.
- Report via text: Forward the text message to 7726 for help reporting the scam phone number.
The Postal Inspection Service will contact you if further information is needed.
Non-USP-related scam texts can be sent to the Federal Trade Commission or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also forward the message to 7726 for assistance reporting the scam phone number.