Beware the ‘upfront payment’ scam, warns SA Post Office
“Members of the public who receive the notice should delete it immediately.”
The SA Post Office has warned against a scam that duped customers into paying money up front before collecting their parcels.
“The post office does not require the payment of any fees before the time of collection,” said SA Post Office communications manager Johan Kruger.
Kruger said the post office had become aware of this scam through emails meant to convince the customer to pay money into a fraudulent account.
“The email states that a parcel addressed to them is being retained because customs fees on it are outstanding.
“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,” he said.
He said these emails would also include a parcel number that could not be generated by the post office.
“Although the sender appears to be ZA-post office, the actual email address originates from a server in Germany.
“Members of the public who receive the notice should delete it immediately.”
Kruger said SA Post office would send an SMS or a collection slip to customers when they had a parcel waiting for collection.
“This parcel should be collected as soon as possible to make sure it is not returned to the sender,” Kruger said.
Kruger said if there were customs fees payable on a parcel from abroad, the client would pay the fees when they collected the parcel.
He encouraged members of the public with any information about postal crimes to contact its toll-free crime buster hotline on 0800-020-070.
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