Post office warns against email scam

The South African Post Office (Sapo) has released a statement warning members of the public of a scam email requesting receivers to pay money to fraudsters under the guise of “outstanding custom fees”.

The statement by Sapo’s spokesperson, Johan Kruger, said people have reported receiving an email stating that a parcel addressed to them was being retained due to outstanding fees.

“The notice entices them to click on a link, which leads them to a website where they can make a payment to release the fictitious parcel,” said Kruger in the statement.

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“Emails sent from the server of the SA Post Office originate from @postoffice.co.za. The scam emails are sent from different servers. The email includes a parcel number starting with the letters ZA, which was not generated by the post office.

“When tracked on the post office website, the parcel number does not give any result,” he said.

Those who receive the scam email are advised to delete it immediately.

“If there are customs fees payable on a parcel posted from abroad, the client pays the fees when they collect it. The post office gives customers the opportunity to check a parcel before they officially take it into possession, and therefore does not require the payment of any fees before the time of collection,” Kruger said.

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He said the post office normally sends an SMS when a parcel is ready for collection, and never requests an EFT or online payment before a parcel is collected. Any request for an electronic payment should be viewed as a scam.

The post office has encouraged the public with any information about postal crimes to contact its toll-free crime-buster hotline on 0800 020 070.