Post office warns of parcel scam

The South African Post Office has warned the public of email and text messages meant to convince the receiver to pay money into a fraudulent account.

The Post Office said the latest text message includes the name of person who is receiving the message and either states that the address of the receiver is illegible, or that the parcel can only be released once a clearance fee has been paid.

“The emails and messages differ in format, but they all contain a link. Should the receiver click on the link, a page requesting payment opens where the receiver can make a payment to ‘release’ a fictitious parcel,” Post Office spokesperson Nobuhle Njapha said.

Njapha said the Post Office sends customers a text message or a collection slip when they have a parcel waiting for collection at a post office branch.

“This parcel should be collected as soon as possible to make sure it is not returned to the sender. Post Office branches have separate queues, so if you collect a parcel you will not have to queue with customers collecting a social grant,” Njapha said.

The Post Office will never ask for import duties or clearance fees in advance. If there are customs fees payable on a parcel from abroad, the client pays the fees when they collect the parcel from the Post Office counter. It will also never requests a bank account number.

Also, it is likely a scam if the tracking number on the message is invalid when entered into the postal tracking website.

The Post Office has urged members of the public who receive the notice to delete it immediately.

Members of the public with any information about postal crimes are also encouraged to contact Post Office toll-free crime buster hotline on 0800 020 070.