South Africa Post Office on Tuesday warned customers about fraudsters on the prawl to fleece them of their money through a parcel scam.
SA Post Office said it has “become aware of emails meant to convince the receiver to pay money into the account of fraudsters.”
“Members of the public receive an email stating that a parcel addressed to them is being retained because customs fees on it are outstanding,” the state-run company said in a statement.
The parastatal said it 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.”
“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 notices entice the victims to click on a link which leads them to a website where they can make a payment to release the fictitious parcel.
The scam emails are sent from servers that are different from the SA Post Office server, @postoffice.co.za.
Members of the public who receive such notices should delete it immediately, it said.
JN/APA