Is a text from what looks like DHL or Amazon asking me to reroute my package real?
Almost certainly not. Package rerouting smishing texts lead to credential-theft pages and card detail harvesting.
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
Explanation
Package rerouting texts claim that your delivery could not be completed, that an address is incorrect, or that you must choose a new delivery date through a link. The link goes to a convincing fake delivery company page. Some pages only ask for your name, address, and email — data used for targeted phishing — while others ask for card details to pay a small redelivery fee. DHL, Amazon, Royal Mail, and other carriers do send genuine notifications, but genuine ones direct you to their official app or website, not to custom links. If you are expecting a delivery, track it directly in the carrier's official app using the tracking number from your order confirmation email.
These campaigns are timed and themed to maximise plausibility — they surge around major shopping periods when almost everyone has something in transit, and the carrier named is rotated so that some fraction of recipients will coincidentally be expecting exactly that courier. The coincidence is the trap: the text seems to confirm itself. The tracking-number habit dissolves it, because your genuine shipment has an identity that lives in your order confirmation, not in an inbound message, and checking it takes no longer than reading the text did. Nothing legitimate is ever lost by ignoring the link and checking at source.
Common red flags
- Text arrives about a delivery you are not certain you are expecting
- Link goes to a domain that does not match the carrier's official website
- Small payment required to reschedule delivery
- Text asks you to provide personal or payment details to complete the reroute
What to do now
- Do not click the link — check your delivery status in the carrier's official app
- Track parcels only using tracking numbers from your original order confirmation
- Report smishing texts to 7726 (UK) or the relevant spam reporting service in your country
- If you entered card details, contact your bank immediately
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which carrier has my parcel without clicking the link?
Your order confirmation email contains the carrier name and tracking number. Go to the carrier's official website or app and enter the tracking number there directly.
I get so many delivery texts — how do I manage them safely?
Adopt one rule: never act through links in delivery messages. Track every parcel from the confirmation email or the carrier's app using your own tracking number. Genuine texts lose you nothing under this rule, and fraudulent ones lose their entire mechanism.