The South African Post Office (Sapo) is warning customers against a new scam which involves people receiving emails about a package that could not be delivered to them.
The email is titled “Your package could not be delivered” and informs the unsuspecting individuals that they need to pay a clearance fee in order to get their package. The email purports to be from the post office but is not.
The email contains a link and should you click on it, a page called Bureau de Poste d’Afrique du Sud opens, requesting payment to release the parcel.
The page is in French. Sapo uses English as its official language and no communication will be done in French. This should warn customers that this is not an official message from the Post Office but is indeed a scam.
Here’s How To Spot If Your Message From The Post Office Is A Scam
- 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.
- The Post Office never requests your bank account number or an online payment for customs duties.
- The tracking number on the message is invalid when entered into the postal tracking website, or refers to a parcel that was collected years ago.
If you are expecting a parcel from the post office, you will receive an SMS or a collection slip informing you that a parcel is available for collection at a nearby branch.
The Post Office said, “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 for different transactions, so if you collect a parcel you will go into a shorter, faster queue”.
To report suspicious activity around postal crimes, call the Post Office’s toll-free line on 0800 020 070.
