Don’t Fall For This Holiday Package Delivery Scam

Another scam that you need to be aware of is hitting the Treasure Valley.  As Christmas approaches, experts suggest caution before clicking on ANY email package delivery notices.

Fake notifications are being reported in all states including here in Idaho.  The holiday phishing season began just before Thanksgiving and will likely extend until after Christmas, according to a spokesperson for IBM Security.

Most of us do holiday shopping that requires shipping, from Fed Ex, UPS or some other company. Some people are reporting that they are receiving emails stating that a delivery was attempted, but nobody was home and all you have to do is click on the link to find out how you can have your package re-delivered or picked up  DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK!!!!!

Security company FireEye says that they sees a large increase in fake package email alerts over the last two months of they year.  People at Christmas time awaiting packages are way more open to a possible scam email than they would normally be the rest of the year, because…well it’s the time of the year that we all expect packages to be delivered, so we are all a little more gullible when it comes to clicking on a link that might not be safe.

Common subject lines the company has been tracking include:

- We could not deliver your parcel, #00556030

- Please Confirm Your DHL Shipment

- Problems with item delivery,

- Delivery Receipt | Confirm

Fed Ex, DHL and UPS all say they will never send emails alerting you that they didn’t make a delivery or to confirm your information, so if you get an email from a delivery company, don’t click on the link…or be prepared for malware to be installed on your computer.

Remember it’s always better to be safe than sorry.