SA Post Office warns public of online parcel scam

The SA Post Office warned South Africans to be vigilant and not fall prey to a scam which involves paying money into fraudulent accounts.

It said there has been a sharp rise in the number of enquiries arising from emails and text messages that appear to originate from the Post Office, but are designed to make the receiver pay money into a fraudulent account.

According to the Post Office, the messages state that the parcel can only be released once a clearance fee has been paid and include a link.

“Should the receiver click on the link, a page requesting payment opens where the receiver can make a payment to ‘release’ the fictitious parcel. The current website changes appearance and the message it displays.”

Be wary of fake messages

The Post Office has urged South Africans to be wary of the fake messages.

The Post Office never asks 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,” it said.

The Post Office said it sends customers an SMS 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 for different transactions, so if you collect a parcel you will go into a shorter, faster queue.”

Meanwhile, the SA Post Office said it has taken steps to improve its transport network and has changed over to a new transport provider adding that deliveries may take longer than usual in the interim.

During the change-over period, some mail items take between three and five workdays longer to reach their destination.

The Post Office said it expects its transport connections to function optimally by 1 April 2022.

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