Shopping · stamped SCAM

The parcel held for a clearance feeSCAM

A real scam people fell for this year, next to the real thing. The numbers mark the three things to check: hover or tap one to see what it tells you.

Safe
RTrack your item | Royal Mail×
https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item
Royal MailSend · Receive · Track
Your item is out for delivery

Tracking number: AB 1234 5678 9GB

Expected today, Thursday, by 6pm.

Track another item
Scam
SSwiftLink Global Express - Track Shipment×
https://swiftlinkglobal-express.live/track
SwiftLink Global ExpressTrack · Services · Contact
On hold
Shipment SLG-48213-UK

Package from Capt. David Moore (gifts and documents) is at our London hub.

Pay the £850 clearance fee to release it. Contact: swiftlinkexpress.uk@gmail.com

Pay clearance fee

Always check the fee.

A courier nobody has heard of, a Gmail address, and an £850 "clearance fee" for gifts from someone you met online. The parcel doesn't exist; the fee is the scam.

Always checkThe real oneThe scam
1Where it livesIs it the real company's or person's own address or number?

royalmail.com is Royal Mail's own site.

swiftlinkglobal-express.live is a made-up courier with a Gmail contact.

2What it asks you to doCheck firstDoes it want a password, a payment, a call, or a tap?

Nothing. It just shows where your parcel is.

£850 to release a box of "gifts and documents".

3How hard it pushesIs there a deadline, a threat, or a surprise charge?

A delivery date, no fee.

The parcel is "on hold" until you pay.

RememberIf someone you met online sends you a parcel that needs a fee to release, it is a scam. Real carriers don't hold gifts for ransom.

Would you have spotted it?

10 pairs like this one, three minutes, a score to share. Then find out who in the family is the easy mark.

Take the testNext scam: The ring you never ordered →