How Scammers Use Fake Delivery Fees to Steal Card Info
Learn the red flags in fake delivery texts and the exact steps to check a package without risking your card.
Scammers send an unexpected text about a delivery problem with a link to a fake carrier site. That site asks for a small redelivery fee, which captures the card number and sometimes other personal details. The fee is the bait, not the real charge.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service calls this smishing, or phishing by text. It was the most-reported U.S.
text scam in 2024, and consumers reported losing $470 million to all text scams that year, according to the Federal Trade Commission in its April 2025 text-scam data.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 05, 2026.
What does the fake message look like?
Texts impersonating USPS, UPS, or FedEx warn of a missed delivery, address problem, or held package. The message includes a link to a convincing copy of a carrier site that asks for a small redelivery fee, according to the Federal Trade Commission in its 2024 impersonation-scam analysis. That payment page collects the card number and sometimes the Social Security number.
The Federal Communications Commission reports the same pattern with added pressure. Recipients are pushed to confirm an address, update payment information, or pay a delivery fee or customs charge, as described in its package-scam guidance. A newer tariff version claims a package is stuck in customs until a tariff is paid.
- Unexpected delivery text with a link
- Urgent request to confirm address or payment details
- Small fee for redelivery, customs, taxes, or tariffs
Why does a small fee work?
A small amount feels low-risk, so readers lower their guard. Attackers blast mass texts during busy shopping and holiday periods, when many people expect packages. Anyone waiting for a delivery can pause and click.
Victims who enter card data face larger consequences. The Federal Trade Commission and the Postal Inspection Service report fraudulent charges, recurring-subscription enrollment, resale of card details, and identity theft. The card entry is the theft, and the package problem never existed.
How can you spot the fake?
A real USPS text comes only after a customer first requests tracking for a specific tracking number. That legitimate message will not contain a link, according to the Postal Inspection Service in its smishing guidance. An unsolicited text with a fee-payment link is not from USPS.
Loss and ranking figures also have limits. They reflect only fraud reports voluntarily filed that named text as the contact method. They understate total losses and cannot show that every fee text succeeds.
What should you do with the text?
Do not tap the link and do not reply, even with STOP. Check the delivery yourself by typing usps.com or opening the retailer's app directly. Never use the link or phone number in the text.
- Do not click, reply, or call back
- Verify by typing the carrier or store address yourself
- Forward the text to 7726 (SPAM)
- Report it to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and [email protected]
- Call the card issuer right away if card details were entered