Real Freight Company vs Fake Shipping-Fee Scam
How to tell a genuine freight or courier request from a fraudulent message demanding unexpected customs fees or release payments before your package can be delivered.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Fake shipping-fee messages arrive by SMS or email, impersonating well-known couriers such as DHL, FedEx, or national postal services. They claim a small fee must be paid online before your parcel can be released, then use the payment page to harvest card details or redirect you to a subscription.
Side-by-side comparison
| Real freight / courier company | Fake shipping-fee scam | |
|---|---|---|
| Contact method | Notifications sent to the email or phone number you provided at checkout; tracking link matches courier's official domain | Unsolicited SMS or email with no connection to a recent order; link goes to a non-official domain |
| Fee request | Genuine customs and duty charges are calculated at checkout or invoiced formally; courier sends an advance duty notice with full breakdown | Vague 'small fee' or 'customs clearance charge' with no itemisation; must be paid immediately or parcel returned |
| Payment page URL | Hosted on the courier's verified domain (e.g., dhl.com); uses recognised payment processor | Domain slightly misspelled or on a generic hosting URL; payment page may look identical to the real one |
| Tracking number | Tracking number resolves on the courier's real website | Tracking number invalid or resolves on a cloned site that shows fake progress |
| Amount requested | Genuine duty amounts are proportionate to the declared parcel value | Always a small, plausible amount such as £1.99 or $3.50 designed to seem not worth questioning |
| Urgency | Clear delivery window; parcel held for a reasonable period with formal notification | 'Pay within 24 hours or parcel will be destroyed or returned'; no actual parcel in transit |
Common red flags
- SMS or email about a parcel you were not expecting or have no tracking number for
- Fee payment link goes to a domain that is not the courier's official website
- Urgency claim that the parcel will be destroyed or returned today
- Payment page requests full card details including CVV for a small fee
- Tracking number does not resolve on the courier's real website
Verification steps
- Go directly to the courier's official website (type the URL yourself) and enter the tracking number there
- Compare the sender domain in any email against the courier's real domain — fraudulent domains often swap letters or add words
- If you genuinely owe customs duty, your national customs authority will send formal paperwork, not an SMS link
What not to do
- Do not click payment links in unsolicited courier SMS messages
- Do not enter card details on a payment page you reached via a link in a text
- Do not assume a small fee is safe to pay without verifying the site is genuine
A safe response
Do not pay. Navigate to the courier's official website manually to check real tracking status. If your card details were already entered, contact your bank to block the card and monitor for unauthorised charges.
Frequently asked questions
I entered my card number but the payment failed. Am I safe?
Not necessarily. The page may have captured your card details even if the transaction appeared to fail. Contact your bank to report the incident and consider requesting a replacement card.
Are there ever genuine customs fees payable by SMS link?
Some couriers do send SMS notifications with payment links for genuine duty, but these should resolve on the courier's official verified domain. When in doubt, check by typing the domain directly rather than following the link.