Beware of this new SMS scam: a so-called carrier asks you to pay a small sum, in order to send you your parcel blocked by customs. A scam that only aims to retrieve your credit card information and use it to make purchases on the web.
If you order frequently from abroad, you have probably already received a message telling you to pay customs fees before delivery. A link in the SMS allows you to pay them directly online, and until you do so, no package is delivered to you. The procedure is classic and is not illegal.
But be careful, because a fake SMS is currently circulating and, as evidenced by one reader who contacted us, it is easy to be fooled. The message received is very similar to the one that carriers are used to sending, while the amount requested, which may seem insignificant, can have serious consequences.
Also read: “Your package has been sent” – this dangerous SMS threatens to empty your wallet
An SMS asks you to pay a fee for a parcel blocked by customs
“Your delivery is held in our distribution center. Please follow the instructions. ” This rather harmless SMS followed by a URL does not really arouse suspicion. Especially since when you click on the link provided, the browser does not display any alert and opens it without batting an eyelid. And yet, it is indeed a phishing which aims to steal the user’s credit card information.
This is the trap into which one of our readers fell and who tells us: she who regularly orders in China and who was expecting several packages at the end of last August, clicked on the fraudulent link without really being wary of it. There, a message told him that his package was stuck by customs and thatshe had to pay 3 euros to unblock the situation.
A minimal amount and a site that looks like two drops of water to that of UPS, there is something to be easily fooled. Unfortunately, a detail escaped her, she told us. The UPS company logo was actually spelled “IPS”. She noticed it too late and had already entered her credit card information on the scam site.
Two days later, she notices that his card was actually used to make a purchase on the GreenBoozt site, whose company is based in Gibraltar. It is impossible to tell if the site is the source of the phishing or if purchases have actually been made on it.
A small amount and a proven method
“I made the connection, but I said too bad for 3 euros”, explained the victim. The story does not end there, since a week later, a new debit was made on the same site, this time of 44 €. The turpitudes of our reader could thus have continued until the complete emptying of her bank account if she had not had the reflex to contact her bank. This then advised him to launch a complaint for the debited amounts, while affixing an online purchase security on his bank card set at zero euros.
Not long ago, one of the editorial staff also received the SMS in question, the text of which was identical. Only the address had changed. We change from a domain name “itemtt.one” to “f05.me”. In both cases, the given URL is of course temporary and no longer works at the time of this writing. In fact, cis all the domain name that had disappeared within 48 hours following receipt of the fraudulent SMS.
The technique is ultimately similar to the one we mentioned a few weeks ago, which consists of asking the consumer by SMS to pay a very small amount in order to reschedule the delivery of a package. Again, you have to pay a small amount (1 or 2 euros) to recover a package.
In conclusion, absolute distrust when you receive an SMS asking you to pay for something before receiving a package. Double check the URL: is the carrier known to you and is its name spelled correctly ?. In addition, an amount of 3 euros for customs charges is abnormal. At the very least, and in the best of cases, these costs amount to around ten euros. Finally, wait a day or two before going to the payment site. If the URL disappears in the meantime, it was definitely a scam.