Can a delivery company charge me a fee to release a parcel or package?
Legitimate couriers may collect genuine customs duties at the door, but unexpected 'release fees' demanded by text or email — especially when you are not expecting a parcel — are almost always a scam.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Genuine customs duties and import taxes are assessed by government customs agencies and may be collected by the courier on the agency's behalf. These charges appear on official customs documentation, reflect the declared value of the item, and can be verified through the national customs authority's website using the parcel's tracking number.
Parcel delivery scams use SMS or email messages mimicking well-known couriers. They claim a package could not be delivered due to an outstanding fee — typically a small amount to seem plausible. The link in the message leads to a fake payment page that harvests card details, after which the victim's card is charged repeatedly or sold.
Red flags include messages about parcels you were not expecting, fees that cannot be verified against a real tracking number, and payment pages that look slightly different from the courier's official website. Legitimate couriers will redelivery notification through their official apps and websites, not through suspicious shortened links.
If you receive a delivery notification and are unsure whether it is genuine, visit the courier's official website directly and enter the tracking number provided to check its status without clicking any link in the message.
Common red flags
- Text or email about a parcel you are not expecting
- Requests a small fee to release or redeliver a package
- Contains a link to a payment page rather than directing you to the official website
- Tracking number does not appear on the courier's real website
- Payment page asks for full card details including CVV
- Sender's email domain does not match the official courier domain
What to do now
- Do not click any links in the message
- Go directly to the courier's official website and enter the tracking number
- If the tracking number shows nothing, the message is likely fraudulent
- Report the phishing message to the courier's official fraud team
- Report to your national cyber security agency
- If you entered card details, contact your bank immediately to block the card
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell if a customs duty charge is real?
Real customs charges come with official customs documentation showing the assessment. You can verify the tracking number on the courier's official website and cross-check with your national customs authority. Genuine duties are never collected via anonymous payment links.
I clicked the link but did not enter payment details — am I safe?
Merely clicking a link can sometimes install tracking software, but the main risk is if you entered personal or card details. Run a malware scan on your device and monitor your accounts for unusual activity.