Trading Standards - Delivery Scams on WhatsApp

20th February 2025

According to the 2024 Big Scottish Scam Survey, the most common scams in Scotland are related to deliveries, with 42% of respondents having experienced a delivery scam within the past year.

Following regular reports of scam text messages and emails, claiming that you need to rearrange a missed delivery, there are now cases of scam WhatsApp messages.

These messages typically say that a courier has tried to deliver a parcel but that nobody answered the door. You are asked to click a link to reschedule the delivery. They may appear to have been sent by a 'verified' account.

Links typically lead to malicious websites which use branding of legitimate delivery companies and ask you to enter your contact and payment details, either to pay a storage fee or to arrange to have the parcel redelivered.

Over 50,000 copycat websites impersonating delivery companies were reported last year, with some of the most commonly spoofed brands in the UK including Amazon, DHL, Royal Mail and Evri.

How to Avoid
Legitimate parcel delivery services will not contact you unexpectedly to ask for personal or payment details.
If you receive an unexpected message about a parcel delivery, don't click on any links or follow any instructions to download an app to your phone.

If you are expecting a parcel, track the delivery on the company's official website or app rather than using links or contact details provided in an unexpected message.

Find out more
ScamShare Spotlight PDF on delivery scams: www.tsscot.co.uk/Spotlight-Delivery.pdf
Original article: www.which.co.uk/news/article/scammers-use-a-verified-whatsapp-account-to-carry-out-new-delivery-scam