Unfortunately, there are always people looking to make a quick buck at other people’s expense. I just received this alert from Avast anti-virus, and thought I’d share to hopefully eliminate someone getting taken advantage of.
The gist of it is this – there’s been a massive rise of scam attacks worldwide. 33% of Avast users have already been attacked. Most (80%) of those attacks are a package scam where you get an email saying you have a package waiting and just need to “pay fees” to claim it.
Don’t fall for this scam – think before you act!
How do you determine if this is a legitimate email or not?
1) The first thing I always check when looking at possible scams is the email address. The chances are you can tell it’s a bogus email right away (not a professional email address like an @amazon.com email), etc.
2) As far as this package scam goes – I have never heard of a package not getting delivered because there are “fees” that need to be collected. When you order any packages, any fees for shipping & handling would be charged up-front. Yes, there used to be options for C.O.D. (cash on delivery), but I haven’t seen that option in a VERY long time.
3) If you’re still not sure if this is a legit charge, do you remember ordering any packages that haven’t been delivered yet? If so, go back and look at the email confirmations you received and track the packages. I’d be 99.9% certain that it wouldn’t be from that place that just emailed you.
4) If there’s a claim that someone else sent a package to you, CHECK WITH THAT PERSON. Again, this is still highly likely a scam. What kind of gift-giver leaves fees for the recipient? None that I know of. But if you want to be absolutely sure this isn’t legit, call that person and ask them if they sent something from whatever company is listed in the email, and if there should be fees on that package. I’m sure they’ll say no.
I hope this holiday season finds everyone doing well, unscammed, and surrounded by loved ones. 🙂