Courier and parcel scam

How it works

A message says a delivery is held and asks for a small re-delivery or customs fee through a link — or a call says a parcel in your name was seized, which is often the start of a "digital arrest".

Red flags

• !A parcel you did not send or order.
• !A small re-delivery or customs fee, payable through a link.
• !A call saying a parcel in your name was seized and connecting you to “police”.
• !A tracking link that is not on the courier’s own website.
• !You are asked for card details to pay a fee of a few rupees.

Example

The fee is tiny on purpose. What they want is the card details you type in to pay it.

This is an illustration of the pattern, not a copy of a real message. Real ones vary in wording.

What to do

1. 01Do not pay through the link.
2. 02If you are expecting a delivery, track it on the courier’s own website or app using your tracking number.
3. 03If a caller says a parcel was seized and transfers you to an officer, hang up. That is the start of a digital arrest scam.
4. 04If you entered card details, call your bank and block the card.
5. 05If money has gone, call 1930 immediately.

Where to report

• Your bank

  Call the number printed on the back of your card or shown in your bank’s own app, and ask them to block the card or account and dispute the transaction.

• Call 1930

  The national cyber-fraud helpline. If money has left your account, call straight away — the sooner it is reported, the better the chance of the money being frozen.

  Call 1930

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

  File a complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the acknowledgement number it gives you.

  Open cybercrime.gov.in

• Sanchar Saathi (Chakshu)

  Report the suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp number to the Department of Telecommunications, even if you lost nothing.

  Open sancharsaathi.gov.in