Beware of delivery scam, warns Post Office
The scam involves people paying for parcels electronically before collecting the package.
THE South African Post Office (Sapo) is warning people of a parcel delivery scam.
The Post Office said in statement, “A caller informs a customer that a parcel is ready for collection – provided they first pay money into an account. According to the caller, the money is for customs duties and courier fees.”
In one case, a person is said to have paid R3 500 for a parcel.
According to Sapo, a person is directed by the fraudster to a website that appears similar to the Speed Services’ site. The phone number, however, is in the United Kingdom with a prefix of +44. Customers are also given a PIN which they have to enter before they can ‘track’ the fictitious parcel. The Post Office said it does not use PIN numbers for its tracking service.
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The parastatal business said they do not need customers to make payments before a parcel is released. It also noted that when someone does need to pay an import tax on a parcel, the levy must be paid at the post office when the package is collected and the customer will receive a receipt. The post office added that when people do get an SMS from Sapo, it will be to tell the person to collect the item from a specific branch.
Sapo say people can call the SAPS or the Post Office’s Crime buster Hotline at 0800 020 070, if they have information about the scam.
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