Fact Check

FedEx Undeliverable Parcel Notification

Is a scam being spread via FedEx undeliverable parcel notifications?

Published Dec. 26, 2012

Claim:

Phishing bait:   FedEx undeliverable parcel notification.


SCAM


Example:   [Collected via e-mail, April 2012]


I have received several e-mails with similar messages, purporting
to be from Fed-Ex. I don't believe they are genuine. Here is an example.
 

Order: MJTG-5908-0249332718
Order Date: Friday, 21 December 2012, 04:46 PM
Dear Customer,

Your parcel has arrived at the post office at December 24. Our courier was
unable to deliver the parcel to you.

To receive a parcel, please, go to the nearest our office and show this
receipt.

DOWNLOAD POSTAL RECEIPT

Best Regards, The FedEx Team.


 

Origins:   Notices about supposedly undeliverable shipments from parcel delivery companies are always an effective lure for phishing schemes, especially around the winter holiday season. At that time of year many people

order merchandise which is shipped to them via such companies, and even people who aren't expecting any merchandise orders of their own will typically be receiving shipments of gifts from friends and relatives.

Many Internet users in December 2012 received spammed e-mail messages purportedly informing them that parcels shipped to them via FedEx could not be delivered to them and were being held at the local Fedex office (or post office), and those messages attempted to lure recipients into clicking on a link to download "postal receipts" which could be used to claim those undeliverable parcels.

FedEX posted a Holiday Email Scam Alert on their web site to notify customers that such messages were bogus:



We have received reports of fraudulent emails claiming to come from FedEx regarding “undeliverable” shipments and fake FedEx delivery notifications. The emails are asking you to click on a link and print a receipt to take to your nearest FedEx location. FedEx does not send unsolicited emails to customers requesting information regarding packages, invoices, account numbers, passwords or personal information.

If you receive a message similar to this description do not open the email or click on the link.



Last updated:   26 December 2012

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.