"Your parcel is held, update your address" link with a small fee
A message in the name of India Post or a courier says your parcel could not be delivered and asks you to pay a small redelivery fee through a link, which steals your card details.
Community reports: 0
How it works
- An SMS or WhatsApp message, made to look as if it comes from India Post or a courier company, says your parcel could not be delivered because the address is incomplete.
- It gives a link and a short deadline, such as 12 hours, and sometimes a caller follows up to hurry you, saying the parcel will be sent back.
- The link opens a page that looks like the official site and asks for your details and a small redelivery fee, such as Rs 80 or Rs 100, by card, and the card details are then used for other payments.
What it looks like
Example messages. Numbers and links are masked.
India Post: Your package has arrived at the warehouse but could not be delivered due to incomplete address information. Please update your address within 12 hours: indiapost-redelivery[.]in
Your parcel delivery failed. Redelivery charge of Rs 80 is pending. Pay now to avoid return to sender: track-parcel-help[.]com
Red flags
- You are not expecting any parcel
- Link is not the official website
- A fee for redelivery
- A deadline of a few hours
- Card details or OTP for a tiny amount
The one question to ask
Did you check the tracking number on the official website or app yourself, instead of through this link?
Already paid or shared details?
Call 1930 at once and call your bank on the number printed on your card to block the card, even if only a small amount was taken, because the scammer now has your full card details. Then file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in with a screenshot of the message and the link.
1930 · cybercrime.gov.in
Also seen as
- "Customs duty pending" message for a parcel
- Tracking link that asks you to download an app
- Follow-up call from a fake delivery agent