Scammers are delivering phishing messages this holiday season

During the holiday season, you might expect to get more deliveries. Some might even be surprise gifts. Scammers are counting on that when they send fake delivery notifications to you by email and text, hoping you’ll click. Here’s how to spot these scams.

You get an email or text and it says you missed the delivery. Or it might say your item can’t be delivered because you need to update your street address or zip code. Sometimes these scammers create a sense of urgency by saying if you don’t respond right away, they'll return your package to the sender. The scammers say both of these issues can easily be fixed: just click on a link.

Why do they want you to click that link? It’s a phishing scam. If you click, scammers could get information like your usernames and passwords for your online banking, email, or social media accounts. Scammers could then use those to steal your identity and open new accounts in your name. They might also install malware on your computer.

To avoid fake shipping notification scams:

• Don’t click on links in messages about an unexpected delivery.  If you get a message about an unexpected package delivery that tells you to click on a link for some reason, don’t click.
• Contact the shipping company directly to get more information. If you think the message might be legitimate, contact the shipping company using a phone number or website you know is real. Don’t use the information in the message.
• Check your order status. If you think the message could be about something you recently ordered, go to the site where you bought the item and look up the shipping and delivery status there.

No matter the time of year, it always pays to protect your personal information. Check out these resources to help you weed out spam text messages, phishing emails, and unwanted calls.

Image