Mail delays, supply chain issues, shortages. Any or all could delay shipments of things you order this holiday season. It also contributes to a flurry of fake shipping notification texts and emails popping up in emails or on phones.
Like many of us, Chana Rosenblat’s mom anxiously awaited a package she ordered. Chana said, “She went through her emails and saw something from USPS, so immediately she responded."
The alert said they attempted a delivery .. but no one was home. Chana says it went on to offer to re-deliver with a catch, “They said there was a $3 fee."
An amount low enough to convince her to pay. Her mom put in her address and credit card number but was then asked for more. “When she submitted it came out with asking for her social security number."
Chana said that she intervened and had her mom cancel her credit card. But she sees others easily falling for this scam.
"If I hadn’t stopped her,” she said, “She might’ve put in her social security number because she wanted that package really badly."
And that's just what scammers count on, according to Google Cyber-Security expert Alex Krasov.
“Any of these scams the purpose is to get you to share some kind of personal information with the bad actor so they could pose as amazon, as ups, as your bank, the telephone company, even a friend or relative, but they're always trying to get your password, maybe your credit card information, maybe your bank account, that's what they're trying to get from you when you click on the link and share information."
Spam filters help, but scammers find ways around them, according to Cyber-Security expert Bill Seiglein.
He wants you to look for signs of a scam before clicking on links or replying to any email text.
“If the content of the body of the email is a photo, if it’s not real text, it’s gotta be a scam. they are trying to avoid software that catches words and will turn that into spam and will block it for you.”
To help avoid falling for fake package delivery scams, save your order confirmations in a separate folder in your inbox. This way, if you get an alert about a delivery, you can return to your original email. And don’t just click on a link to check packages you get in a text message or email. Instead, type in that information on the shipper's site to check on your package. Scammers also like to create official-looking fake websites to try to trick you, so always look for “https” at the start of the URL web address. The “s” stands for secure.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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