The Undeliverable Package Scam

Always consult the official confirmation email when expecting a package.

2023-08-20T00:00:00.000Z

Welcome to the era of convenience. Once upon a time, journeying to the deparment store was the only way we could shop or purchase goods we were interested in. We can now scroll through Amazon or any number of eCommerce storefronts offered by our neighbors, friends and family. Most people I know are expecting a package to arrive soon and I am hard pressed to make what I think to be the not-so-brazen assumption that you, dear reader, are in fact expecting a package to arrive soon as well.

• You should be well aware that messages such as these are arriving into all of our inboxes. This message did not originate from the United States Postal Service (USPS). How do I know? Take a gander at the sender address. Does it look like it came from the USPS? The answer is no because the USPS sends emails only from the usps.gov domain.
• "But hey..." I hear you say, "What about from a phone number? THIS LOOKS LEGITIMATE, RIGHT!?"
• WRONG. I wish I were not the bearer of such news however just as email addresses utilizing insecure domain records are spoofable, so are our regular every day phone numbers.

I am of the opinion that we as a society need to migrate to a new standard as far as our phone system goes but that idea is outside of the scope of this article.

Do not click these links because part of this scam is the collection of information that may identify you further.

Not only are these people trying to extract money from you on the false promise of delivering a package that does not actually exist, these people are trying to collect information that would allow them to further target you with other schemes.

• FYI, impersonating a law enforcement officer is a crime but in this case I think it is ok... (probably still not ok, sorry)

  

• I know you want your package to arrive but I recommend going through the confirmation email from the order to track your package.

• I know the links are clicky and I too like to click click click ALL THE LINKS but please refrain from doing so as you will instantly transmit your device information (what kind of phone or computer you are using, gps location, etc.) to whoever is hosting those links.

• Last but not least, double check and verify the contact information when these kinds of messages arrive. When in doubt, perform a search for the contact information of whoever is providing your service and reach out through their official channel.

Stay safe out there!