Trading Standards - Delivery Scams

11th October 2025

43% of respondents to this year's Big Scottish Scam Survey had experienced a delivery scam.

Scammers typically direct people to malicious websites by sending scam text messages and emails claiming that you need to rearrange a missed delivery.

One woman recently received a text message that appeared to be from Boots, saying her order had left the warehouse and would be delivered within two days. She then received several messages supposedly from Royal Mail saying: "Your BOOTS parcel is due today between 11:20am - 4.55pm. View delivery options at this link...'

The following day, more messages appeared, with some saying that Royal Mail had attempted to deliver her Boots package and others saying the parcel had already been delivered. They included links to click to 'track' the order or rearrange a delivery.

She had never ordered anything online from Boots and didn't receive a delivery.

Another man got a text message saying that a parcel had been damaged in transit and asking him to pay £2 to arrange for delivery of a new item that day.
He was expecting a delivery and needed the item urgently, so clicked the link and paid the money.

However, their genuine parcel arrived a couple of minutes after he had made the payment and he realised the message had been a scam. He contacted his bank and was able to stop any fraudulent payments being made from his card.

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