There’s a new parcel delivery scam that post office users should remain alert for and guard against.
The SA Post Office warned the public to be on the alert for the new scam which is designed to defraud them.
The conmen place phone calls to members of the public, alleging to be from the Customs division of the SA Post Office. The caller informs them that a parcel is ready for collection, provided they first pay ‘customs fees’ into a bank account.
The SA Post Office insisted that it does not require customers to make any bank deposit before parcels are released. In instances where a SARS levy import tax is payable on parcels from abroad, the import tax must be paid at the Post Office counter when the item is collected. The customer will receive a point-of-sale receipt for this payment.
Where the Post Office has the recipient’s cellphone number, the customer will receive an SMS requesting them to collect the parcel at a specific branch. The SMS will not request funds to be deposited into an account.
Members of the public who have information regarding this scam are requested to call the police or the Post Office’s crime buster hotline on 0800-020-070.
The SA Post Office advises the public to ignore communication of this nature.
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