Fake shipping notification emails and text messages: What you need to know this holiday season

When you order something online, you might get several emails or text messages about your order: Confirming your order. Telling you it shipped. Saying it's out for delivery. Notifying you about delivery. Did you know that scammers send fake package shipment and delivery notifications to try to steal people's personal information — not just at the holidays, but all year long? Here's what you need to know to protect yourself from these scams.

The bogus stories the scammers deliver

The scammers send bogus messages by email or text. The message might say that you missed a delivery attempt and ask you to click on a link to re-schedule the delivery. Or it could say that your item is ready to ship but you need to update your shipping preferences. Some create a sense of urgency by saying if you don’t respond right away, they'll return your package to the sender.

They want you to click on the link without thinking about it and enter your personal or financial information. But the site is fake. A look-alike of a real website. And it’ll capture all the information you enter. The link could also install harmful malware on your phone or computer that steals your information. Things like your usernames and passwords to your online banking, email, or social media accounts that scammers could use to steal your identity and open new accounts in your name.

What to do

• If you get a message about an unexpected package delivery that tells you to click on a link for some reason, don’t click.
• If you think the message might be legitimate, contact the shipping company using a phone number or website you know is real. Don’t use the information in the message.
• If you think it could be about something you recently ordered, go to the site where you bought the item and look up the shipping and delivery status there.
• No matter the time of year, it always pays to protect your personal information. Check out these resources to help you weed out spam text messages, phishing emails, and unwanted calls.

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