Real Delivery Message vs Fake Delivery Text
Spot the difference between a genuine courier update and a smishing scam.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Couriers do send text and email updates, and most of the ones you receive are perfectly genuine. A real message tends to be unremarkable: it refers to a parcel you are expecting, points you at the courier's own app or site, and asks for nothing beyond perhaps a delivery preference. Fake delivery texts succeed on timing rather than craft. Most people have something in transit most weeks, so a message about a missed delivery arrives at a moment when it is entirely plausible, and the sum requested is deliberately small enough that arguing feels like more effort than paying. The distinction that matters most is the combination of money and a link. A genuine charge can always be checked inside the courier's own app, so nothing is ever lost by ignoring the link and looking there yourself.
Side-by-side comparison
| Real delivery message | Fake delivery text | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | Rarely demands a small fee via a text link | Demands a small 'redelivery/customs' fee |
| Links | Directs you to the official app/site | Links to a non-official, odd domain |
| Details | Doesn't ask for full card details | Asks for card and personal details |
| Verification | Matches an order you actually placed | Often for a parcel you're not expecting |
Common red flags
- A fee demanded to release a parcel
- Link to a non-official domain
- Requests for full card and personal details
- Urgency and a short deadline
Verification steps
- Check tracking in the courier's official app/site
- Use the tracking number from your own order confirmation
- Don't click links in unexpected delivery texts
What not to do
- Don't click the link
- Don't enter card details
- Don't pay the 'fee'
A safe response
Do not tap the link. Open the courier's official app, or type their website address yourself, and enter the tracking number from your own order confirmation. If nothing is waiting on a fee, the message was fake and you can delete and report it as spam. If you are unsure who sent your parcel, check with the retailer you actually ordered from. If you have already entered card details, ring your bank on the number on the back of your card, cancel the card, and expect a follow-up call claiming to be the bank about that very payment, which is a common second stage. Report the message to your national reporting service.
Frequently asked questions
I entered my card details on the link. What should I do?
Ring your bank now using the number on the back of your card, cancel that card, and ask them to watch for pending payments. Change any password you reused on that page. Then be ready for a follow-up: people who enter details are often phoned days later by someone claiming to be the bank's fraud team, referring to that exact payment. Treat any such call as a scam, hang up, and call the bank yourself.
The text named the right courier and knew my address. How did they know?
Usually they did not. These messages go out in bulk, and with enough recipients a large number will genuinely be expecting a parcel from that courier, which makes it feel targeted. Where real personal details do appear, they typically come from data breaches or publicly available information. Correct details are not proof of a genuine sender, so verify in the courier's own app regardless of how well the message matches your situation.
Do couriers ever charge fees by text?
Rarely, and you can always verify in the official app instead of clicking a text link. Treat fee-demanding delivery texts with links as smishing until proven otherwise.
Sources
- USPIS — Smishing: Package Tracking Text Scams — United States Postal Inspection Service
- USPIS — Mail & Package Theft — United States Postal Inspection Service
- FTC — Got a Package You Didn't Order? It's Probably a Scam — Federal Trade Commission
- Report Fraud — Courier Fraud — UK National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre (Report Fraud)