That “Your Package Is Delayed” Text Is Probably Fake

It shows up at the worst possible time. You are standing in line somewhere, you have three orders on the way, and your phone buzzes: “USPS: Your package could not be delivered due to an incomplete address. Update here within 24 hours.” There is a link. There is a deadline. And for a split second it makes perfect sense, because you really are waiting on a package.

That split second is the whole scam.

The Most Reported Text Scam in the Country

Fake delivery texts are not a fringe problem. The Federal Trade Commission says they were the single most reported type of text scam in 2024, ahead of fake job offers and fake bank alerts. People reported losing $470 million that year to scams that started with a text message, five times what was reported in 2020. And the delivery ones work best in exactly the weeks we are heading into, when half of us have something in transit.

Why It Works

The trick is not sophistication. It is timing. The scammer does not need to know you ordered anything. They send the same message to thousands of numbers and wait for the people who happen to be expecting a box. Then the link takes you to a page that looks like the real tracking site and asks for a small “redelivery fee,” your card number, or a login. Sometimes it is just your name and address, which gets sold and used for the next round.

Four Things That Give It Away

You never asked for texts. The Postal Service only texts you if you signed up for tracking updates yourself, and its real texts do not carry a link. Give the same side-eye to texts “from” FedEx or UPS that you never asked for. If you did not opt in, that alone is a red flag.

The link looks almost right. Something like usps-redelivery-help.com, or a string of random letters. Real carriers send you to their own website, period.

There is a clock on it. “Within 24 hours” or “your package will be returned.” Urgency is the oldest lever there is, because it gets you to act before you think.

They want money for something that should be free. A dollar or two for “redelivery” feels too small to worry about. That is the point. The card number is what they are after, not the $1.99.

The Boring Habit That Beats It

The easiest habit is also the most boring one: do not tap links in delivery texts. Ever. If you are worried about a package, open the store’s app or go to the carrier’s site yourself and type in the tracking number from your order confirmation. It takes thirty seconds longer and it removes the guesswork completely.

When one of these lands on your phone, forward it to 7726 (it spells SPAM). That sends it to your wireless carrier so they can block similar messages. You can also report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Then delete it.

If You Already Tapped the Link

Do not panic, but move quickly. If you entered a card number, call your bank and have the card replaced. If you typed in a password, change it, and change it anywhere else you have used the same one. Turn on two-step verification wherever you can. Most of the damage from these scams happens in the days after, so acting the same day makes a real difference.

The Coffee Break Takeaway

At Corporate Technologies, we spend a lot of time helping businesses keep this kind of thing out of their inboxes and off their networks. But the best defense is still a person who pauses for two seconds before tapping. That goes double for the phone in your pocket, which is also where you check your work email.

So this season, when that “delivery problem” text shows up, and it will, let it sit. Your real package will still arrive. Theirs never existed.

Enjoy your coffee break.